Apple’s court case with Epic Games begins Monday. In a case that could have wide-reaching consequences, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will decide whether Apple has to let Fortnite back into the App Store and make Epic’s own payment option available. Furthermore, she will provide a ruling on whether Apple is able to block third-party apps that use Epic’s Unreal Engine development software.
Apple and Epic Games Meet in Court
The judge ultimately has to decide where Epic’s antitrust claims are likely to succeed and whether or not it will suffer irreparable harm without an injunction. However, “Epic faces an uphill battle,” Mark Lemley, a professor at Stanford Law School, told Bloomberg News. “Apple’s pricing policies are problematic, and antitrust law should probably do something about it. But courts are very reluctant to dictate who a company, even a monopolist, has to do business with.”
The dispute centers on the way Apple takes fees for in-app purchases in its App Store. Any ruling could also affect Google’s ability to claim similar fees from its Play Store.