In a significant legal victory for Epic Games, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld most of a lower court's ruling against Apple regarding its App Store payment practices. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers previously found Apple in “willful violation” of an injunction aimed at allowing developers to use alternative payment methods. The appellate court agreed that Apple's initial 27 percent fee on outside payment options violated this injunction and criticized the company's broad restrictions on how these payment links could be presented. The appeals court also determined that Apple acted in “bad faith” by failing to comply with the injunction and dismissing viable alternatives during internal discussions. It rejected Apple's claims about the protection of certain materials under attorney-client privilege, confirming the district court's evaluation was appropriate. While the lower court prohibited Apple from charging fees for external payments, the appeals court suggested that Apple could impose a "reasonable fee" based on its actual costs related to user security and privacy. Tim Sweeney, Epic's CEO, expressed optimism about the ruling, suggesting that the fees Apple charges should be minimal, possibly in the range of “tens or hundreds of dollars” for each app update review. He believes this approach would allow for a fairer system that supports developers while maintaining necessary security checks against potential scams. The next steps involve negotiations between Apple and the district court to define what constitutes a reasonable fee moving forward.