The ‘After the Bell’ panel discusses the $ 100 billion first quarter in the company’s history due to strong demand for the iPhone 12.
A judge ordered Apple CEO Tim Cook to face a seven-hour testimony related to the tech giant’s ongoing battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games.
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Court documents reveal that Epic originally wanted to depose Cook for eight hours. Apple invoked the apex doctrine, a rule that prevents top corporate employees from being deposed, but later offered Cook a four-hour deposition as a concession.
But according to Judge Thomas Hixon, the Epic and Apple dispute is “shorter than meets the eye” and the apex doctrine only “limits the length of a deposition, rather than barring it entirely.” Hixon said the real question is whether Cook should be deposed for “four hours, eight hours or some time in between,” but noted that the decision would have to be “practical”, since there is no legal principle to answer the question. .
As a result, Hixon came to the conclusion of a seven-hour testimony, citing the deadline as “the standard rule of how long a witness must be put down”.
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Another factor that Hixon weighed in making his decision is whether Cook has “unique, non-repetitive knowledge of the facts of the case”, an important focus of apex doctrine.
“There is really no one like the Apple CEO who can testify about how Apple sees competition in those various markets that are essential to its business model,” wrote Hixon. “The antitrust claims presented here imply the competition that the company faces and important aspects of its business model. The CEO’s understanding of these matters is almost by definition unique and not repetitive.”
Hixon also said that Epic demonstrated that the testimony would be “significant”, citing Cook’s previous testimony before Congress on issues relevant to the three cases and the game creator’s ability to “present sufficient factual information to show that a testimony from normal size would not be abusive or harassing. “
However, Hixon determined that, according to the apex doctrine, a deposition of more than seven hours for Cook is “unjustified”.
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In addition, Hixon has denied Apple’s request to subpoena internal documents from Samsung, which the tech giant claims to support its claim that the App Store’s policies are similar to those of other companies.
Hixon called the request a “deep and peculiar dip” in the relationship between Samsung and Epic.
“If the market includes dozens or hundreds of application producers, the ability of that particular company to distribute its applications on other platforms is of little relevance to the antitrust claims in question, which focus on the effect that Apple’s policies have on the market, not just a competitor, “said Hixon.
The judge explained that, due to Epic’s size, its agreement with Samsung “cannot be a substitute for some larger category of market participants”.
“This means that the requested documents are idiosyncratic to Epic itself and unlikely to be important evidence of competition in a market or the effect of Apple’s policies on any type of market, however, the market can be ultimately defined”, added Hixon.
Other companies subpoenaed by Apple include Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and Amazon.
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The dispute started after Epic Games created a direct payment system in the popular video game to offer players a 20% discount and a way for the company to get around a 30% commission rate for the App Store. In response, Apple withdrew Fortnite from the App Store and announced plans to suspend Epic’s access to App Store development tools.
Epic subsequently filed a lawsuit against Apple, seeking to terminate its “anti-competitive restrictions in mobile device markets” and accusing the company of “flexing its enormous power to impose irrational restrictions and illegally maintain its 100% monopoly on the payment processing market in the iOS app.”
Epic argued that Apple’s move would hurt its Unreal Engine, used by many game developers to create their own products, and asked the court to block the move and grant the company a reinstatement on the App Store. Although a judge ruled that Apple could not retaliate against Unreal Engine, the court said it would not reinstate Epic in the App Store.
Apple said earlier that it would allow “Fortnite” to return to the store if Epic removed the direct payment feature, but Epic refused, saying that fulfilling Apple’s order would “conspire with Apple to maintain its monopoly on payments. in the iOS app. “
After officially revoking Epic’s access to development tools for Mac and iOS, Apple took a step forward with a counter-action seeking “restitution and restitution of all unlawful gains, profits, compensation, benefits and other gains obtained by Epic “as a result of its direct payment system.
The company also asked the court for Epic’s payment system to be completely disabled, as well as damages for damage to its reputation as frustrated “Fortnite” players and a public relations campaign against Apple that includes a parody of the television commercial ” 1984 “from the company and playable character” Tart Tycoon “, which bears some resemblance to Cook.
The trial of the Apple and Epic case is currently scheduled for May 3, 2021, according to a lawsuit in October.