Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Epic Games opposes Apple’s effort to pause antitrust trial orders

Epic Games, the creator of “Fortnite,” came out against Apple Inc.’s (AAPL.O) efforts to put antitrust court orders on hold while an appeals process plays out.

In a partial victory for Epic and other app developers, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers knocked down portions of Apple’s App Store guidelines in September, including a bar on developers referring their users to other payment methods besides Apple’s in-app payment system.

Apple has until December 9 to comply with the injunction, but the corporation announced earlier this month that it will appeal the decision and has urged Gonzalez Rogers to put her order on hold while the appeals process, which may take more than a year, takes place.

Epic said in a court filing on Friday that Apple has not fulfilled the legal criteria for the pause, which requires Apple to establish that even temporarily complying with the order will cause irreparable harm if the injunction is eventually overturned on appeal.

“The public interest favors denying (Apple’s request); an injunction is the only path to effective relief,” Epic wrote. “History shows … that in the absence of an injunction, Apple will not make any changes.”

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A hearing on Apple’s request is set for Nov. 9.

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