Apple: No, the App Store Is Not a Monopoly

Apple has urged a U.S. District Court judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it has a monopoly over iOS apps, saying it has done no wrong.

Apple argued that requiring developers to sell their apps through its iTunes App Store and nowhere else is not an antitrust violation, nor is charging developers a 30 percent cut of their proceeds for distribution. Just because there are no third-party storefronts peddling discounted iPhone apps doesn’t mean Apple is abusing a monopoly position over iOS apps. The company doesn’t set the price for paid applications. The plaintiffs in the case brought their suit against Apple in 2011, claiming that their inability to legally buy iPhone apps from anywhere but the App Store was proof that Apple is a monopolist.