Apple has been given a reprieve from having to make major changes to its lucrative App Store while it appeals an antitrust lawsuit brought by Fortnite creator Epic Games.
In September, a US judge ordered Apple to change its App Store rules, which bans developers from including links in buttons to outside payment systems, rather than using Apple's own in-app payments that charge a commission on sales. The injunction was set to go into effect on Thursday at 12.01 am Pacific Time.
The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals paused Apple's request to pause the order with just over 12 hours remaining before the deadline.
Apple shares were up 1.8 per cent in late trading, though most of the rise took place before the court issued its order.
The appeals court order means Apple won't have to make any changes while it pursues a potentially years-long appeal of the Epic Games decision, which was largely favourable to the iPhone maker aside from the order to allow buttons to outside payment methods. The lower court did not find that Apple violated any antitrust laws, but it said that the company broke California's unfair competition law by not allowing developers to tell consumers about alternative ways to pay for software.
The 9th Circuit Court wrote on Wednesday that Apple has demonstrated at minimum that it raises serious questions on the merits of the district court's decision.