Alphabet’s Google is intensifying its legal battle against “Fortnite” maker Epic Games, as the tech giant filed a court motion on Thursday night urging US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco to either grant a new trial or issue judgment in its favor. This move comes in response to a jury verdict in December that found Google had abused its market dominance in managing rules for its app store, Google Play.
In the court filing, Google argued that Epic Games failed to present sufficient evidence to support the jury’s conclusion that Google’s control over the Play store was anticompetitive, reported Reuters.
The company contended that it competes vigorously with Apple in the mobile apps market and asserted that Epic should not have been allowed to argue otherwise. Epic Games initiated the antitrust lawsuit against Google in 2020, primarily focusing on the fees charged on transactions within apps and restrictions on app distribution. While Epic sought changes to Google Play, it did not pursue monetary damages.
Related: Epic Games & Match To Bring New Antitrust Allegations Against Google
Epic Games is anticipated to seek an order from Judge Donato, compelling specific changes to overhaul Google Play in line with the December verdict. However, if the judge rejects the motion for a new trial, Google still has the option to challenge the verdict in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The tech company has previously expressed its intention to appeal and has settled related claims from consumers and states for $700 million in the run-up to the trial. As part of the settlement, Google agreed to promote greater competition.
This legal clash between Google and Epic Games mirrors a similar battle that Epic fought against Apple over the rules of its App Store. Although Apple largely prevailed in that case in 2021, it was compelled to make some alterations to its store policies.
Epic Games, in a filing in January, contended that Apple had not fully complied with the changes, indicating its intent to once again seek court intervention in the ongoing dispute with the tech giant.
Source: Reuters
Featured News
Justice Department Moves to End NCAA Transfer Rule
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
Kenya’s Competition Authority Proposes Tougher Regulations on Big Tech
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
KKR Secures EU Antitrust Approval for $24 Billion Acquisition of Telecom Italia’s Fixed-Line Network
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
European Court Sides with Tech Giants in Italian Regulatory Dispute
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
US Steel and Nippon Steel Secure International Approvals for $14.9B Merger
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Merger Guidelines Retrospective
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Mergers of Complements
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Personality Traits, Private Equity, and Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Lessons in the Importance of Incipiency, Modern Economics, and Monopsony
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Sharpening Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI