Apple requests that the court to delay changes to the App Store

Apple requests that the court to delay changes to the App Store until the Fortnite trial's appeals are resolved

iPhone developers are being prohibited from redirecting users away from the company's App Store in order to make online payments, and Apple has asked a court to grant a stay of the injunction.

A motion to stay an injunction issued against Apple on September 10 in connection with a lawsuit brought against the company by video game developer Epic Games was filed on Friday by the company with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, according to a press release.

It is currently scheduled to take effect on December 9, and it states that Apple (AAPL) will no longer be able to prevent developers from including links to external payment options within their apps; for example, alerting users to the option of paying for a subscription via a web browser rather than through the app.

That requirement has been suspended until November, according to Apple's request, which comes weeks before the deadline for changing the App Store's requirements is set to expire. When Apple filed its formal appeal of the September decision, it included the request in the same package.

In the midst of a protracted legal battle between Apple and Epic Games, the company behind the massively popular video game Fortnite, this is the latest development.

As previously reported, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple not to be in a monopoly position in September after ruling that she could not conclude that the company was one in the lawsuit. Her position on one point, however, was in agreement with Epic: Apple cannot prevent app developers from informing their users about alternative payment methods available outside the App Store. According to Apple, the company retains up to 30% of the majority of in-app transactions on its devices.

Epic filed an appeal just a few days after the decision was announced, and the rift between the two companies has only grown more acrimonious in the months since.

Immediately following the decision, Apple announced that the game would not be allowed to be reintroduced to its devices until the appeals process was complete, implying that the game could be unavailable on iPhones for several years.

The company could gain a similar amount of time if Gonzalez Rogers grants Apple's most recent request, which would allow the company to avoid having to make significant changes to the App Store.