The Oakland, California district has begun receiving in this Monday (03/05) the arguments of the lawyers of Apple and Epic in a legal dispute that promises to heat up the courts in the United States. Epic Games is trying to convince Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, assigned to the case, that the Apple applies anticompetitive and monopolistic practices in App Store, your app store.

The fight that is now in the courts began in August last year, when the Apple solved remove from your platform the game Fortnite, alleging that Epic had illegally inserted a direct payment option via the app, violating the existing rules for third parties in the App Store. These rules require outside companies to use the native system of the Apple for payments and, in addition, pay a 30% fee on transactions.

On Tuesday (04/05), the lawyer for Apple, Karen Dunn, was blunt, and even a bit sarcastic, when arguing against Epic's position on the accusations of monopolies and anti-competitive practices. "Epic wants us to be Android, but we don't want to be, and our consumers don't want that either." Dunn's statement is an allusion to Google's operating system, which allows sideloading of apps outside of the Google Play Store on Android devices.

Epic's Response

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, (who has already sued Google in Australia) gave his testimony this Tuesday and claimed that, by introducing the direct payment option in the Fortnite game, he wanted to “show consumers that Apple exercises full control over iOS and the software available on the platform.” The argument had already been used by the company before the dispute reached the courts, but was not accepted by Apple, which keeps the game out of the App Store.

According to Daniel Ives, an analyst at the investment bank Wedbush, Epic's move on the Apple it was risky, and victory in court is unlikely. According to the expert's analysis, the Apple and its app store-focused business is “solid as a fortress,” and the structure will remain solid regardless of the noise generated by the legal battle. The trial is expected to last around three weeks, with executives such as Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, making their presence felt in the testimonies.

Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. Mac Rumors

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