Judge Yvonne Gonzalez met with lawyers from Apple and Epic Games to organize the details of a trial that will seek to decide whether Apple’s App Store practices are monopolistic and anti-competitive, as reported by MacRumors. The judge said the case was significant enough to be heard in person, with witnesses deemed less likely to lie when testifying in a physical court.
The test can be changed to virtual occurring on Zoom if the numbers of COVID-19 are high at the time of the test, but it should start on May 3, no matter what. If current plans go ahead, witnesses will have to travel to Northern California to testify, unless they have valid health reasons for not traveling. The judgment will be held in court, that is, there will be no jury.
Epic’s lawsuit against Apple alleges that the technology giant is a “giant that seeks to control markets, block competition and stifle innovation”, saying that Apple’s practices are anti-competitive and monopolistic. Epic’s main problem with Apple is the 30% cut it receives from App Store payments, as well as rules that prohibit App Store applications from processing microtransactions outside Apple’s payment system.
Since then, Apple has reduced its fee to 15% for developers who earn less than $ 1 million a year, which does not apply to Epic Games. Fortnite is not yet available for downloads or new updates on iOS, while Android players can only download the game through third-party app stores, such as the Samsung Galaxy store.
The trial is due to start on May 3, with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez waiting for a trial of about two to three weeks, while Epic wants it to last about four to five weeks.
