2020年经济学人 神仙打架:苹果vsEpic(2)

The Epic¹ case may hinge on how the court defines the relevant market. In Apple’s eyes the App Store is part of a broader universe of digital platforms in which it can reasonably claim not to be a monopolist. Epic takes a narrower view, arguing that iPhones are a market unto themselves.

Epic案件的结果可能取决于法院如何界定相关市场。在苹果公司看来，苹果应用商店只是庞大数字平台的一部分，它可以合理地宣称自己不是垄断企业。Epic则持有狭隘的观点，它认为苹果手机本身就是一个市场。

Most lawyers think Apple had the better of the initial exchanges. The judge seemed unconvinced by Apple’s attempts to stop Epic from updating the iPhone version of the software behind “Fortnite”, which is licensed² to other gamesmakers. But she reserved her strongest words for Epic, which she admonished³ for inviting⁴ trouble.

大多数律师认为，苹果公司在最初的几次交锋中占了上风。法官似乎并不相信苹果公司试图阻止Epic升级iPhone版“堡垒之夜”，因为这款游戏已经授权给了其他游戏开发者。但法官对Epic疾言厉色，她警告说Epic是在自找麻烦。

The case looks likely to go to a jury trial next year. With no clear precedent⁵, big ramifications⁶ for the tech industry and the odds⁷ that the losing party will appeal, the dispute may end up in the Supreme⁸ Court.

这个案子看起来很可能在明年由陪审团审理。由于没有明确的先例、案子对科技产业影响重大、以及败诉方存在上诉的可能性，这场纠纷最终可能会在最高法院进行。

In the meantime, Apple is facing other pressures. Epic is being cheered on by fellow members of the “Coalition for App Fairness”, like Spotify, a music-streamer, and Match Group, owner of Tinder and other dating apps. In June, at Spotify’s urging, the EU opened an antitrust probe into the App Store, and David Cicilline, who chairs a committee in America’s Congress that examines antitrust issues, described Apple’s fees as “highway robbery” and lamented⁹ the lack of “real competition” on iPhones.

与此同时，苹果公司还面临着其它压力。Epic公司目前得到了“应用程序公平联盟”成员的支持，比如音乐软件公司Spotify和Tinder等其他约会应用的所有者Match Group。今年6月，在Spotify的敦促下，欧盟对苹果应用程序展开了反垄断调查。美国众议院司法委员会反垄断小组委员会负责人戴维·西西兰将苹果的收费行为描述成是“拦路抢劫”，并痛惜苹果手机上缺乏“真正的竞争”。

While it battles Epic in the courts, Apple may tweak its rules to placate¹⁰ some developers. It has done so on occasion in the past, for instance exempting¹¹ Amazon from the 30% commission on in-app purchases for the e-commerce giant’s Prime Video streaming app. On September 25th, following criticism from Facebook, Apple announced a temporary waiver on the 30% fee on in-app purchases for companies that had been forced by the covid-19 pandemic to switch to online-only events.

尽管苹果在法庭上与Epic公司明争暗斗，但它可能也会为安抚一些应用开发商对应用商店规则进行调整。这样的行为过去也时有发生，比如，苹果曾免除电商巨头亚马逊旗下流媒体Prime Video内购的30%抽成。9月25日，受到Facebook指责的苹果公司宣布，针对那些因新冠疫情而被迫转向线上活动的公司，暂时免除它们应用内购的30%抽成。

Such concessions¹² may be as far as Apple will go, at least willingly. When Steve Jobs launched the App Store in 2008, he didn’t think it would ever make much money. He was wrong. Although the company does not break out the platform’s financial results, it probably makes up the bulk of its services business, which accounts for nearly 20% of revenues—and rising, as iPhone sales slow. Seeing what a promising¹³ profit engine it has turned into, Apple’s late boss would doubtless have fought tooth and nail to hang on to it.

这样的让步可能已经是苹果所能做的极限了，至少它是自愿的。史蒂夫·乔布斯在2008年推出苹果应用商店时，并未想过它能赚到很多钱。但他错了。尽管苹果公司从未公布过应用商店平台的财政业绩，但它可能是苹果服务业务的主要组成部分。苹果公司的服务业务占总收入的近20%，而且伴随苹果手机销量缓慢，这一比重还在上涨。眼看着苹果应用商店变成了前途光明的利润引擎，这位已故的苹果老板必定会竭尽全力地坚持下去。

1 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

2 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

3 admonished   

v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责

参考例句：

• She was admonished for chewing gum in class. 她在课堂上嚼口香糖，受到了告诫。
• The teacher admonished the child for coming late to school. 那个孩子迟到，老师批评了他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

5 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

6 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 placate   

v.抚慰，平息(愤怒)

参考例句：

• He never attempts to placate his enemy.他从不企图与敌人和解。
• Even a written apology failed to placate the indignant hostess.甚至一纸书面道歉都没能安抚这个怒气冲冲的女主人。

11 exempting   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• EPA adopted regulations exempting discharges from agricultural activities, with certain exceptions for relatively major pollution sources. 环境保护局采用管制规章，禁止源自农业活动的各种排放，对于一些相关的大型污染源也有例外。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

13 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。