Apple has lost a London lawsuit accusing the US tech company of abusing its dominant position by charging app developers an unfair 30% commission through its app store.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled against Apple after a trial of the lawsuit, brought on behalf of around 20 million iPhone and iPad users in the United Kingdom and valued at up to £1.5 billion, earlier this year.
The CAT ruled that Apple had abused its dominant position by shutting out competition in the app distribution market and by "charging excessive and unfair prices in the form of the commission which it charges developers".
The tribunal said members of the claimant class were entitled to damages, with how damages are to be calculated to be argued at a hearing next month.
The case was the first mass lawsuit against a tech giant to come to trial under Britain's fledgling class action-style regime, with many other cases waiting in the wings.
In a statement, the company said it strongly disagreed with the ruling, adding that it took "a flawed view of the thriving and competitive app economy".
"The App Store faces vigorous competition from many other platforms - often with far fewer privacy and security protections - giving developers and consumers many options in how they build, share, and download apps," it said, adding that it will appeal the ruling.
