Apple has submitted to the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, United States, a new scheme to collect commissions for purchases made through external links in iOS applications. Based on the documentation, the standard application rate is 15 per cent and a lower rate may be applied to some of the developers ' projects.

Different developers rate layer

According to the apple submission, if the ordinary application developer guides the user through an external link to complete the purchase, the commission is paid at 15%. The rate of participation in the Apple Small Enterprise scheme fell to 5 per cent.

Apple also suggested that a 10 per cent rate could be applied to developers involved in specific cooperation projects, including Video Partners Programme, News Partners Programme and Mini Apps Partners Programme. The rate is also proposed to be reduced to 10 per cent for the continuation of the transaction of subscriptions.

  • 15% off-site standard application rate
  • Small business developers rate 5%
  • Subscriptions and partial cooperation projects at 10 per cent

The Supreme Court denied the request for a stay.

This action took place in the context of the proceedings against Apple Games, which lasted many years. One of the points of contention between the parties was whether apples could continue to charge for transactions that bypassed the App Store system and were completed by external links.

The United States Supreme Court rejected Apple ' s request for a stay of subsequent proceedings before the lower court on the same day, after which Apple disclosed a new fee structure. This also means that the lower court will continue to review its off-site payment arrangements.

Apples to cover Platform Inputs

Apple indicated in the document that the fees were to recover its inputs on tools, technologies and services. These inputs were used to maintain App Store and related software systems.

Apple also compares its own program with Google Play. According to its paper, Google Play pays 20 per cent for off-site links for standard applications, 15 per cent for some special items and 10 per cent for subscriptions. Apple also mentioned that Epic Gomes had accepted the related tariff arrangements for Google.