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Apple will be in court to answer the charges leveled against it by Epic Games. The iPhone maker is facing one of its most serious legal battles in years, and the trial is starting now.
The said court trial is said to be a big threat to Apple and its control over its own App Store. If the company fails in this legal battle, its billion-dollar earnings a year from the App Store could be tremendously affected.
The legal case filed by Epic Games
The case against Apple was brought to court by Epic Games, the developer, and publisher of the popular video game called “Fortnite.” Associated Press News reported that the latter filed a case as it would like to tear down the so-called “walled garden,” a term coined by the tech industry to refer to Apple’s ecosystem of devices.
The App Store’s wall garden was slowly built as part of a strategy and was first started 13 years ago. This was spearheaded and orchestrated by Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs.
Now, Epic Games wants to break down this “walled garden” as it has changed since it was first created. The gaming company said the once small digital store has become an illegal monopoly over time because it has been taking big cuts from the app developers’ earnings.
Epic Games complained that Apple’s App Store takes 15% to 30% in commission from purchases of the apps inside the store. Aside from this, it alleged that the Tim Cook-led tech company is also taking fees from the sale of digital items in games, subscriptions, and more.
Epic Games was removed from the App Store last year after it added its own payment system that will skip Apple. The gaming company just wanted to be free from Apple’s commissions, but it was pulled out, and Epic sued Apple.
Apple quash Epic’s allegations
Apple is denying the charges and will fight in court to prove it has not done anything illegal.
The company will say that it has been getting commissions in a reasonable way, and this was being collected to regain its investment in financing the app review process that it says is necessary for upholding the security of applications and their users.
On the other hand, Epic Games will attempt to prove that Apple has been using security issues to camouflage its real motive, which is maintaining a monopoly that squeezes more profits from app developers.
SCMP mentioned that the trial will be handled by District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The CEOs of both sides, Apple’s Tim Cook and Epic’s Tim Sweeney, will be attending to testify at the courtroom in Oakland, California. They chose the judge to hand down the verdict instead of a jury, and results could be released in May.
