The Supreme Court agreed to review one narrow part of Apple’s ongoing dispute with Epic Games: the legal standard for civil contempt. It did not take up the entire antitrust case or decide whether Apple may charge a particular fee on purchases made through external links. As of October 4, 2026, the Court had not issued a decision on the merits.
What question did the Supreme Court accept?
On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court granted Apple’s petition for review limited to Question 1. Apple framed that question as whether a party may be held in civil contempt for violating the “spirit” of an injunction when its conduct does not violate the injunction’s “clear and unambiguous terms.” That is Apple’s question and argument—not an answer the Court has given.
The grant concerns how courts interpret and enforce injunctions through civil contempt. It is not a fresh ruling on every dispute between Apple and Epic, nor a decision about the merits of Epic’s original antitrust claims.
How did the dispute reach the Court?
The injunction and Apple’s implementation
Epic’s challenge to Apple’s App Store payment and anti-steering rules led to a 2021 district-court injunction. It required Apple to let developers include buttons, external links, or other calls to action directing customers to purchasing options beyond Apple’s In-App Purchase system. Later proceedings focused on how Apple implemented those external purchase links and whether its conduct complied with the injunction.
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The contempt ruling and appeal
In April 2025, the district court held Apple in civil contempt. On December 11, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the contempt finding but reversed parts of the remedy, including the categorical ban on fees for external transactions. It sent the commission question back for further proceedings without specifying a percentage. The Associated Press described the unanimous appellate opinion as 54 pages long; that is a description of the opinion, not a separate legal holding.
Apple’s Supreme Court petition argues that contempt cannot be based on an injunction’s general purpose if the party did not violate the order’s clear terms. The Supreme Court’s decision to hear that question means it will review the issue; it does not endorse Apple’s position.
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What is the difference between the contempt issue and the fee issue?
These are related parts of the litigation, but they are not the same question:
| Issue | Where it stands | What remains undecided |
|---|---|---|
| Whether Apple’s contempt finding can stand under the proper interpretation of the injunction and contempt standard | The Supreme Court granted review, limited to Question 1 of Apple’s petition. | The Supreme Court had not decided the merits by October 4, 2026. |
| What commission, if any, Apple may charge on transactions made through external purchase links | The Ninth Circuit reversed the categorical prohibition on external-transaction fees and remanded the commission question. | The appellate court did not set a percentage; further lower-court proceedings remain necessary. |
In its August 2026 stay application, Apple described its In-App Purchase rate as 30% and said it applied rates from 12% to 27% to purchases made through external links. Those figures are Apple’s descriptions of its policy in that filing, not a Supreme Court ruling or an independently established rate for every transaction.
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What is the case’s current status?
Apple filed its merits brief on September 14, 2026. The Supreme Court docket listed November 13, 2026, as Epic’s merits-brief deadline and showed amicus filings through September 21. Those are briefing milestones, not a scheduled hearing or a merits decision. No Supreme Court merits ruling had been entered by October 4, 2026.
Justice Elena Kagan denied Apple’s August 2026 application for a stay on August 13, after an administrative stay had been in place briefly. That denial concerned the stay request; it was not a denial of review. The Court had already granted certiorari on June 30.
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Is Fortnite back on the U.S. iPhone App Store?
Yes. Fortnite returned to the U.S. iPhone App Store in May 2025. Its return did not end the continuing legal dispute, and the Supreme Court petition does not mean the game remains excluded from U.S. iPhones.
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