(Reuters) - IPhone maker Apple ( AAPL ) on Friday denied violating a court order governing its App Store and urged a California federal judge to reject a request by "Fortnite" developer Epic Games to hold it in contempt.
Apple ( AAPL ) made the arguments in a filing to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, who presided over Epic's lawsuit in 2020 accusing Apple ( AAPL ) of violating antitrust law with its tight controls over how consumers download apps and pay for transactions within them.
The Apple ( AAPL ) filing criticized what it called an attempt by Epic to make Apple's ( AAPL ) "tools and technologies available to developers for free."
Epic, it said, wanted the court "to micromanage Apple's ( AAPL ) business operations in a way that would increase Epic's profitability."
Epic declined to comment. Apple ( AAPL ) did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the dispute, part of a long fight between the two companies.
Epic largely lost its case against Apple ( AAPL ), but Rogers in 2021 ordered Apple ( AAPL ) to give developers greater freedom to guide app users to alternative payment methods for digital goods.
The U.S. Supreme Court in January declined to hear Apple's ( AAPL ) appeal of the injunction order.
Epic said in a court filing last month that Cupertino, California-based Apple ( AAPL ) was in "blatant violation" of the court's injunction. It pointed to Apple's ( AAPL ) imposition of a 27% fee on developers for some purchases, which the video game maker said makes links for alternative payment options "commercially unusable."
Epic also alleged Apple ( AAPL ) barred some apps from informing users about other ways to pay for goods.
Meta Platforms ( META ), Microsoft ( MSFT ), Elon Musk's X and Match Group ( MTCH ) last month echoed Epic's arguments, telling Rogers that Apple ( AAPL ) was in "clear violation" of the court's order.
In a similar case that Epic brought against Alphabet's Google, a judge in San Francisco is expected this year to issue a separate injunction affecting the Google Play Store.
The case is Epic Games Inc v Apple Inc ( AAPL ), U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-05640.