An antitrust suit against Apple by Blix has been dismissed by a federal judge, in what appears to be a major setback for developers accusing Apple of malpractice with its App Store, reported Bloomberg.
Blix alleged Apple copied patented messaging technology for its “Sign In With Apple” feature, then removed the developers’ app, BlueMail, from its App Store. The tech giant uses App Store search results to push consumers toward Apple products, suppressing third-party competition, the suit claimed.
The US District Court for the District of Delaware dismissed the antitrust claims without prejudice, concluding Blix failed to plead direct or indirect evidence of Apple’s monopoly power or anticompetitive conduct in violation of the Sherman Act.
Allegations that Apple has the power to restrict competition aren’t equivalent to allegations that the company actually did restrict competitors’ output, Judge Leonard P. Stark wrote. And even if Blix had plausibly alleged that Apple held a monopoly over apps, its failure to allege anticompetitive conduct provides an independent reason to dismiss its claims.
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