Epic vs Apple: iPhone maker can maintain App Store payment system

Apple can continue to maintain its in-app purchase system on App Store in the Epic vs Apple case as an appeals court has placed a stay on the enforcement of the injunction issued by the lower court.

The stay does not reverse the earlier ruling but puts enforcement on hold until the appeals court can fully hear the case, a process that will likely take months, reports The Verge.

"Apple has demonstrated, at minimum, that its appeal raises serious questions on the merits of the district court`s determination," the ruling read.

"Therefore, we grant Apple`s motion to stay part (i) of paragraph (1) of the permanent injunction. The stay will remain in effect until the mandate issues in this appeal," it added.

A federal judge in the US last month directed Apple to let developers add links to external payment options on the App Store by December 9, denying the tech giant`s motion for a stay.

The order came in the Epic Games vs Apple antitrust lawsuit in California, filed last year by the Fortnite developer which went to trial this year.

An Apple spokesperson said late on Wednesday that their concern is "that these changes would have created new privacy and security risks, and disrupted the user experience customers love about the App Store".

"We want to thank the court for granting this stay while the appeals process continues," the spokesperson told The Verge.

Epic Games was yet to comment on the latest ruling by the appeals court.

The earlier September 10 ruling on the Epic Games antitrust case had ordered Apple to no longer stop developers from including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchasing.

Following the September ruling, Apple appealed and asked for a stay on the injunction in early October.

Epic Games is best known as the maker of Fortnite, a wildly popular video game played by about 400 million people worldwide.