Despite initially calling the Sept. 10 ruling in the Epic Games v. Apple trial “a resounding victory,” Apple has now appealed the ruling.

The App Store generates about $19 billion annually and makes most of its money from in-app purchases inside free-to-download games. The ruling only impacts U.S.-based companies, which account for approximately one-third of global App Store revenue.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in favor of Apple in nine of the 10 claims Epic brought against the company, but the tech giant is still seeking a stay that would put a freeze on app developers exploring alternative payment methods.

Epic previously filed its own appeal on Sept. 12, after Judge Gonzalez Rogers determined that the “Fortnite” maker breached its contract with Apple.

• Apple isn’t required to restore “Fortnite” to the App Store.
• Epic must pay damages to Apple equaling $3.65 million for 30% of revenue from Epic’s Direct Payment system in “Fortnite” on iOS.

Should Apple win the stay, any rule change that would allow developers to circumvent App Store fees of 15% to 30% may not take effect until appeals in the case have finished — which could take years.

The world’s biggest athletic shoe manufacturer — which works with Nike and adidas — is facing massive labor shortages in Vietnam related to the pandemic.

Around 40,000 workers did not return to a Ho Chi Minh City facility owned by Taiwanese company Pou Chen Corp. when it reopened on Wednesday. The facility closed in July due to rising COVID-19 cases.

Nike could lose up to 160 million pairs of shoes due to factory closures in Vietnam, which normally supplies around half its shoes.

Both Nike and adidas are coming off strong quarters.

• Nike posted $12.2 billion in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 — a 12% rise from the same period the previous year.
• Adidas’ quarterly revenue rose 51% year-over-year in Q2 to $6 billion, bouncing back with $470 million in net income after a $349 million loss in Q2 2020.

After having very few recorded COVID-19 cases through April, the virus surged in Vietnam in September, with active cases peaking at over 225,000. The Southeast Asian nation has just under 100 million people.

Active cases dropped precipitously over the last week to 48,126 on Thursday.

The sports collectibles market continues to see record sales this year, and for Sotheby’s, sneakers are the fastest-growing category, bringing in 55% of new clients.

Sotheby’s opened Michael Jordan’s rookie sneakers to advanced bidding on Friday before the live auction on Oct. 24, adding to the $5 million the auction house expects to make from sneakers this year.

Estimated to sell for $1 million to $1.5 million, Jordan’s white Nike Air Ships are set to become the most expensive pair of sneakers ever sold at auction, beating the current record of $615,000 for a pair of game-worn Jordan 1s from 1985, auctioned by Christie’s in 2020.

MJ’s sneakers aren’t the only collectibles to make headlines this year.

• Last week, an autographed “Shoeless” Joe Jackson photo from 1911 sold for $1.47 million at Christie’s, the most ever paid for a signed sports photograph. 
• In August, a Honus Wagner baseball card sold for a record-breaking $6.6 million.
• A prototype of Kanye West’s first Nike Air Yeezy sold for $1.8 million in a private sale at Sotheby’s in April.

Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips totaled $5.8 billion in sales over the first half of the year.

The NHL has its eyes on Mexico in an effort to expand its Latin American fan base.

While an expansion team is unlikely right now, a preseason or regular-season game in Mexico could be a reality.

“We have to stop relying on people wanting to choose hockey on their own,” retired Cuban NHL goalie Al Montoya told ESPN. “We have to go to where they are.”

The NHL has taken steps to engage with Latin culture in recent years, launching a Spanish-language website in 2019, and celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month for the first time a year later.

Other U.S. leagues have ventured south of the border for decades:

• The NFL International Series has hosted games in Mexico since 2016, after a one-off effort in 2005. 
• The NBA Global Games have brought a mix of preseason and regular-season contests to Mexico City since 1992. 
• A handful of MLB games have been played in Mexico since 1996.  
• In 2019, MLS and Liga MX launched the Leagues Cup featuring clubs from both countries.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently said the league expects to generate more than $5 billion in revenue during the 2021-2022 season as it returns from pandemic lows.