The case between Epic and Apple over the possible monopolistic position of the App Store is far from over. She is even in the process of experiencing a new rise in power, towards a long-awaited call. As part of this new confrontation, the publisher and creator of Fortnite could even strike very hard, according to information revealed by Bloomberg.
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Little throwback
At the end of the trial initiated in May, judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers mostly agreed with Apple. Rendered last September, its judgment ruled in favor of Apple on nine out of ten points submitted to it. Epic then immediately indicated its intention to appeal the decision. Big winner, in its own words, Apple had also indicated its intention to appeal, on the point on which it had not obtained satisfaction.
However, last Thursday, January 20, Epic filed a complaint in which it urges American justice to fight against the “dark cloud” what is the App Store, from Apple, according to him. hugolatre friend, ” it is (almost) here the fight of day and night ».
According to Epic Games, the applications work “Under a Dark Cloud: Contractual and Technological Restrictions Apple Imposes to Maintain Its Monopoly Position and Contain Competition”.
For the publisher of Fortnite, judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers was wrong in judging that the rules and restrictions of the App Store were not in violation of American antitrust laws. If this decision were not invalidated, American anti-monopoly principles could be undermined.
35 attentive attorneys general
This isn’t the first time Epic Games has taken such a position, although other tech giants, like Microsoft, helped provide it with arguments and experts in the first trial. Until now, however, he was quite alone. But things have changed.
A complaint filed by 35 American states has just been added to that of Epic. According to this document, the decision of Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers was based on a faulty analysis and must be reversed.
The attorneys general of these 35 states believe that “as Epic states, Apple is amassing billions in profits beyond what the market should allow from one billion iPhone users. » They enjoin justice to rebalance the forces present in order to reduce “this kind of immense harm is done to consumers”.
But that’s not all. If the US Department of Justice has not taken a position strictly speaking on the merits of the lawsuit between Apple and Epic, according to him, two provisions of the Sherman Act, the first attempt by the US government to fight against monopolies, which dates back to July 1890, were misapplied by the judge. This could create dangerous prerequisites.
“The district court made several legal errors that could threaten the effective fight against monopolies, particularly in the digital economy”continues the document, according to Bloomberg.
This suddenly gives much more weight to Epic’s position. The publisher has also found support from 38 professors of law and economics, as well as from associations for the defense of consumers or civil liberties… Not to mention also Microsoft, which returns in the second week.
We will appreciate in passing the opportunism of the giant of Redmond, which is knowledgeable in antitrust lawsuits, and also sees in this affair the opportunity to weaken Apple in a sector where itself has poorly succeeded so far.
Cupertino society continues to recite the same antiphon:
“We are confident that the judgment will be upheld on appeal, and that Epic’s claims will fail”.
However, since September, the situation has evolved a little, Europe hardens the tone and threatens the uniqueness of the App Store with its Digital Markets Act. While several countries around the world, from the Netherlands to South Korea (at the end of last summer) imposed, through legal proceedings, adjustments to Apple for its download kiosk, in particular on the obligation to offer alternative payment solutions.
The appeal of the decision of the 9and Northern California court won’t proceed to a new trial per se — there won’t be any new hearings, for example. But the documents provided by the two parties will obviously be scrutinized with the greatest attention. A colossal work, followed very closely by the entire high-tech planet, and whose consequences already weigh tens, even hundreds, of billions of dollars, whatever the decision rendered.
Source: Bloomberg