A federal judge's ruling that could compel Apple Inc. to alter its App Store payment policies was upheld by a US appeals court.

Apple stated that it may challenge the ruling. In an antitrust dispute brought by the Fortnite creator Epic Games, the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeal upheld a 2021 decision that might compel Apple to permit developers to give links and buttons for third-party in-app payment choices and avoid paying sales commissions to the iPhone manufacturer.

At $165.33, Apple shares closed the day marginally higher. The appeals court agreed with the trial court that Apple's App Store policies do not violate antitrust laws and upheld its commissions of up to 30 percent for in-app purchases. The appeals court also ruled with Apple on nine other issues in the case.

Apple did not specify whether it intended to appeal to the US Supreme Court or to a broader panel of judges on the 9th Circuit. The business has 14 days to submit an appeal. Orders issued by the trial court will be suspended while any appeals are processed.

In a statement, Epic conceded that it lost on its antitrust claims, but said the trial court order "frees iOS developers to send consumers to the web to do business with them directly there. We're working on the next steps."

While the majority of Epic's claims that Apple had broken antitrust laws were rejected at trial, the trial judge did conclude that by forbidding developers from informing consumers about alternative payment methods, Apple had broken California's statutes against unfair competition.

The trial court judge ruled that links and buttons to third-party payment choices could no longer be blocked by Apple. But unlike competition regulators in numerous nations, the trial court judge did not provide guidance on how Apple must permit those links or buttons, opening the door to potential future legal disputes over the required changes.

The appeals court determined that the trial court's order requiring Apple to alter its conduct was proper since it would be impossible to quantify the harm that Apple's policy caused to Epic.

Due to pressure from competition regulators in other nations like South Korea, the Netherlands, and Japan, Apple was forced to make its in-app payment methods available to all users.