The US judge hears the latest arguments following Apple, Epic Games | Court news

An ally that has become an enemy of Apple Inc.’s Epic Games Inc. has put its final pitch in front of a federal judge to bolster the App Store market, while the iPhone maker has called for its market to be left untouched by 2 million apps.

U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers closed the case on Monday in a case that threatened lawyers with Fortnite blockbuster game creator and iPhone maker 142 billion dollars in how the world of mobile app management is handled.

Recovering from the issues of the three-week trial in Oakland, California, lawyers discussed a number of issues, including the scope of the market that Epic claims Apple has power in and whether Apple’s tight controls in the store harm developers and users. Gonzalez Rogers, who is deciding the case without a jury, said he hopes to hand down the verdict as soon as possible, but has not set a date.

After being questioned when Apple CEO Tim Cook testified as a witness on Friday, the judge on Monday questioned how Apple’s habit of receiving a 30% commission from developers for purchases of apps through its App Store was opened in 2008.

“If there was real competition, that number would move and it’s not like that,” Gonzalez Rogers said. “If the market here enters competition for developers, so far it doesn’t look like anything that will develop anything in the market itself will put pressure on Apple to compete with developers.”

Apple’s attorney, Daniel Swanson, said Apple has improved the quality of the device, even though it kept the same commission rate from its developers. Games played on Apple’s iOS operating system can “hold on” to some of the best games on consoles and computers, Swanson said. “That’s a quality competition.”

Epic sued Apple in August after iPhone manufacturer removed Fortnite from its App Store because the gaming company had come up with a solution that required it not to continue to pay a 30% share in customer app purchases. The case has sparked interest throughout Silicon Valley, with everyone fighting from Microsoft Corp. to Nvidia Corp.. In November, Apple cut revenue by 30% to 15% for developers who generate $ 1 million in revenue.

Epic’s resolutions would ease Apple’s adherence to its retailer, and millions of developers could increase the way apps are distributed to users of mobile devices around the world. It could boost the actions of the U.S. Department of Justice and other regulators around the world by examining Apple’s potential as a gateway to the digital economy.

It took a long time for lawyers to start arguing about a problem they didn’t agree with in the legal debate: the definition of a market that shows Apple’s alleged antitrust behavior.

Epic has argued that Apple has control over the market for the distribution of mobile apps on iPads and iPhones in order to profit from payment commissions for in-app virtual goods. In contrast, Apple says it competes in the digital gaming transaction market that occurs on many devices in video game consoles.

The app store has access to non-iOS apps including “no replacement” apps including Fortnite, said Epic attorney Gary Bornstein. That said, getting the same app on an Android device or video game console doesn’t allow Apple to replace alternative iOS app stores.

Swanson reinforced Apple’s stance that the market should be broadly defined to include digital transactions between devices. Swanson said the Fortnite manufacturer’s argument about the replacement of the devices is “red herring.”

Lawyers also discussed Epic’s request for a resolution ordering Apple to allow other app markets in conjunction with the App Store.

The problem is that they are “the only store in town” and “the only store to get apps out of the iPhone store,” Bornstein of Epic said.

Richard Doren Apple’s lawyer argued that if Epic won, it would ruin the company’s hard-built App Store, turning it into a “poor imitation” of Google’s Android, which is open to alternative app stores.

Gonzalez Rogers noted that Epic has filed a similar lawsuit against Google for its Google Play app store policies. Epic has “sued Google over the exact model,” asking how Apple would fix the problem by directing it to other app stores.

“We’re not arguing that iOS should be like Android,” Bornstein said. Epic’s allegations against Google may cover similar claims, but in particular it targets different policies.

The judge clarified that he was joking that he expected the companies to decide by August 13 on Friday. He explained on Monday that the date is one year since the legal battle began.