“Epic Games Wins Antitrust Trial Against Google Play App Marketplace”
Aftermath of the Legal Battle
Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, has declared victory in an antitrust trial against Google’s Play app marketplace. This announcement comes shortly after a federal jury’s decision in favor of Epic Games after four weeks of detailed court testimony regarding their lawsuit against Google for alleged monopolistic practices.
The Verdict
Sweeney stated, “Victory over Google! After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts. The Court’s work on remedies will start in January,” on X, formerly known as Twitter. This win marks a significant milestone for Epic Games in their legal battle against Google.
Final Arguments and Trial Details
Lawyers for both parties presented their final arguments after a month-long trial. Epic Games’ lawsuit accuses Google of unlawfully dominating the Play store and imposing high fees on developers for in-app sales. The trial shed light on Google’s actions to impair competition and limit alternative app stores, according to Epic’s lawyer, Gary Bornstein.
Google, on the other hand, denied any wrongdoing and emphasized its competitive practices against Apple’s App Store. The company’s lawyer, Jonathan Kravis, argued that Google does not want to lose millions of Android users to Apple annually and has taken steps to lower its fee structure to remain competitive.
Previous Legal Battles
Epic Games had previously filed a similar antitrust case against Apple, but a U.S. judge ruled largely in favor of Apple. Despite this setback, Epic has sought to revive key claims in the Apple case and is currently engaged in a legal battle to challenge App Store rules.
Looking Ahead
As Epic Games and Google await the court’s decisions on remedies, the outcome of this trial is set to influence the dynamics of the app marketplace and could potentially lead to changes in industry practices.
