By Samuel Miller (October 5, 2018, 12:25 PM EDT) -- This term, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether iPhone owners who purchased apps from the Apple app store can proceed with a federal antitrust claim arguing that Apple has illegally monopolized the market for iPhone apps. The case is Apple Inc. v. Pepper (In re Apple iPhone Antitrust Litigation).[1] The issue is whether iPhone owners who purchase apps from Apple's app store, and who paid Apple for the purchase should be considered "direct purchasers" within the meaning of Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois,[2] which holds that only "direct purchasers" from an antitrust defendant are entitled to sue for treble damages under the federal antitrust laws....