A £785 million lawsuit has been filed against Apple by a University of East Anglia professor over alleged abusive pricing claims.

The court filing relates to charges on Apple’s in-app payment platform, wherein some developers have to pay commissions of 15 to 30 per cent of their in-app purchase revenues depending on their annual earnings.

Developers that make more than $1 million per year are charged 30 per cent cut of in-app purchases for use of Apple’s in-app payment system.

Sean Ennis, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of more than 1,500 iPhone app store developers, is a professor in the university’s Centre for Competition Policy and previously worked as an economist for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The policy, which has long faced criticism from around the world, results in many major platforms like Netflix and Spotify not accepting payments on their iOS apps, but Apple also has a policy which stops these developers from telling users that they can make purchases elsewhere.

"Apple's charges to app developers are excessive, and only possible due to its monopoly on the distribution of apps onto iPhones and iPads," Ennis said in a statement to Reuters.

He continued: "The charges are unfair in their own right and constitute abusive pricing. They harm app developers and also app buyers."

Ennis is reportedly being advised by law firm Geradin Partners.

National Technology News has reached out to Apple for comment.

Share Story: