US court renews battle over iPhone apps monopoly

Apple Inc. is facing a renewed battle claiming it attempted to dominate the market for iPhone applications between 2007 and 2013.

On Thursday, a San Francisco-based appeals court in rekindled the planned class-action suit following a lower federal court judge rejected it. The panel stipulated the judge committed a mistake in stating the consumers hold insufficient standing to file a case as direct buyers of apps.

A spokesperson for the tech giant refused to shed light on the court's verdict. Initially lodged in 2011, consumers argued Apple breached the US antitrust legislation by obligating iPhone apps to be sold at the App Store and restricting independent app developers from advertising the software outside the platform.

Plaintiffs' lawyer Mark Rifkin said million of customers should manage to regain most of the company's 30% cut from sales in the app store.

Although it has not yet secure a class-action status, Rifkin said they may attempt to expand the scope of the lawsuit to include those who have purchase iPhone apps to the present.

News are provided by InstaForex