Last week, Epic Games sued Apple after Fortnite was removed from the iOS App Store; Apple not only removed Fortnite, but also informed Epic that as a result of its actions, all Epic developer accounts and iOS and Mac development tools on August 28. Yikes.

Epic immediately sought a temporary restraining order, claiming that Apple's taking such action would be "devastating" to the company. Today, Apple filed an objection to the TRO request, claiming that Epic's problems were entirely of its own creation and that if Epic would simply roll back the offending updates, the issue would be resolved immediately. [Epic's contract with Apple states that if an app developer violates App Store rules or the development tool license, Apple will cease doing business with that developer... Developers who mislead Apple, as Epic has done here, will be terminated will be terminated," the application states (via MSNBC).

"Epic knowingly and knowingly breached its contract by secretly installing a 'hotfix' in its app to bypass Apple's payment system and App Review Process."

Apple also noted that the temporary restraining order "exists to remedy irreparable harm, not easily repairable self-inflicted injury," adding that had Epic filed suit without breaching its contract, it could have avoided suffering any harm at all. Indeed, that still appears to be an option.

"All of the alleged damages for which Epic is improperly seeking emergency relief could disappear tomorrow if Epic cured its breach...Apple has offered Epic the opportunity to return to the status quo before Epic installed the "hotfix" and return to the App Store opportunity.

"All of this can be accomplished without court intervention or expenditure of judicial resources. And Epic is free to litigate the first case. Epic, however, does not want to remedy the damages that it claims are in need of immediate relief. This is because Epic has other objectives.

Apple's response to the request for a restraining order also denies Epic's broader claims, including that Apple operates as a monopoly, that in-app purchases are a separate product, and that Epic's claims are likely to succeed in this case. The crux of its argument, however, is that it is clear that Epic caused this mess and cannot reasonably expect the court to clean it up.

"To begin, equity is not favored just because Epic has dirty hands. Epic unquestionably breached its contract with Apple, and a party who breaches a contract, as Epic has here, has no standing to seek equitable relief."

Interestingly, on the same day that Epic filed its first lawsuit against Apple, Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said on Twitter that the studio was not seeking a special contract with Fortnite, but was in fact seeking "an open platform and fighting for policy changes that benefit all developers equally."

However, in a declaration supporting Apple's opposition, Philip W. Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, stated that this is not actually the case.

"On June 30, 2020, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, wrote to my colleagues and me asking for a 'side letter' that would fundamentally change the way Epic offers its apps on Apple's iOS platform, the operating system that powers Apple's iPhone and iPad, at Apple's expense. I wrote an email to Apple asking for a 'side letter' that would create a special deal just for Epic that would allow Epic to make more money," Schiller said.

According to Schiller, Sweeney sent a second email on July 17, indicating that he was "still pursuing a special deal for Epic," and then sent a third email around 2:00 a.m. on August 13, declaring that "Epic will no longer honor Apple's payment processing limits Epic will no longer abide by Apple's payment processing restrictions," the company declared.

In response to Schiller's declaration, Sweeney said on Twitter that the statement was "misleading," and while he asked for approval for Epic to circumvent the App Store payment system, he added that "Apple has made these options available to all iOS developers with We hope that they will be offered equally."

Schiller alluded to that point in his declaration, but stated that it was part of the reason Apple was unwilling to comply with Epic's request: "Furthermore, what Mr. Sweeney has requested, based on our App Store philosophy, not just Epic's, must apply to all developers. This would have a devastating impact on the user experience and Apple's business model.

Epic announced earlier today that it would be hosting a #FreeFortnite tournament with prizes including a "Tart Tycoon" skin, the sinister apple man from the 1984 parody video, and an Apple-style "dad hat" with a llama logo, in a new Epic is also currently embroiled in a similar lawsuit with Google over the Android Play store.