MLex reports on Epic Games vs Apple three-week-long trial

MLex reports on Epic Games vs Apple three-week-long trial

Epic Games’ high-stakes courtroom battle with Apple came to trial in a California courtroom earlier this year, less than a year after the bombshell news that the game developer was suing the tech giant over how it operates its App Store.

For three gruelling weeks, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and App Store boss Phil Schiller sat opposite each other in the Oakland courtroom as the roster of lawyers, economic experts and executives from companies including Microsoft and Nvidia battled over the fate of Apple’s smartphone business model.

MLex reporters Mike Swift, Amy Miller and Michael Acton were there for every hour, providing readers with blow-by-blow coverage, and this report presents a selection of our 30-plus published reports along with a full chronology of our coverage.

On the line in the case Apple’s exclusive control of the apps that make it onto its handheld devices, and the obligatory In-App Purchasing mechanism that allows it to levy a 30 percent commission fee on digital purchases. It makes for a lucrative line of business. It emerged during the trial that for Epic’s Fortnite game alone, Apple made more than $100 million from such transactions. In the name of all developers, Epic says it wants to break open this “walled garden” to alternative stores and payment methods.

A win for Epic Games would be nothing short of historic, and the world is watching. From Europe to Australia, legislators and antitrust enforcers are poking around Apple’s App Store and thinking about ways to curb its power. Whichever way the judge rules, the Epic Games lawsuit will be cited for years to come as a landmark moment in the global backlash against Big Tech.

Download the report here.


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About the author:
Lewis leads MLex’s editorial strategy,
content direction, quality and development.
He has a reputation for breaking stories
and providing analysis on complex legal
disputes before regulators and courts
around the globe. He has also developed
MLex’s unrivalled coverage of competition
policy, litigation, regulation, Brexit and
international investigations. A graduate
of Oxford University, Lewis worked in
academia at the Charles University in
Prague prior to becoming a journalist.