Apple asks U.S. appeals court to suspend Epic Games case ruling

Apple (AAPL.US) asked a U.S. federal appeals court to temporarily put on hold key provisions of a judge's ruling that requires Apple to immediately open its lucrative App Store to more competitors.

Apple told the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a filing on Wednesday that the iPhone maker would be irreparably harmed if it did not suspend the April 30 order.

Apple is contesting a ruling that found it in contempt of court for violating a previous order in a 2020 antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games, the developer of the online video game "Fortnite."

Apple said in the filing that the new ruling prevents the company from "exercising control over core aspects of its business operations."

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Apple to stop multiple practices designed to circumvent the ban. Apple highlighted two of them in the filing, including the court's ban on Apple charging developers a new 27% fee for app purchases completed by its customers outside the App Store.

Apple said in the filing that a federal court cannot "force Apple to permanently provide its products and services for free."

Apple also challenged part of the judge's order, which prohibits Apple from restricting where developers can place purchase links outside of their apps.