The long battle between Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, and the major app store operators is not over. Otherwise. Google decided to sue the company this week, more than a year after Epic Games sued it. The reason is the same as in the study’s legal dispute with Apple, namely the circumvention of the payment system in Fortnite, so that the creators do not have to pay a commission to Google.
The court document has 43 pages in which Google describes how Epic Games activated hidden code in Fortnit, thanks to which they managed not to pay a 30% commission in the Play Store, which is a requirement to use the store. This is the same situation that should have happened in the App Store.
Google believes that the company has violated the agreement signed and has unjustifiably enriched itself. Epic Games also accuses them of launching a negative campaign against Google, in which they tried to get out of the whole situation as victims. Last but not least, the lawsuit claims that the study never intended to meet the conditions, putting both Google and its customers at risk.
As a result, nobody won
Epic Games embarked on a battle with Google and Apple last summer, saying both companies control their stores too much and at the same time impose nonsensical restrictions on how apps can work. However, the study saw the biggest problem in fees, when almost a third of the commission of all transactions made on the App Store and Google Play must be paid.
Epic then sued Apple and Google, after which Apple filed its own lawsuit against the creator of Fortnite. We learned of a partial outcome of this dispute in early September, the court ruled in favor of Apple, according to which the removal of Fortnit from the App Store was justified by breach of conditions. He also ordered Epic Games to pay $ 3 million.
But it was not a great victory for Apple. The court also said that the California company had to allow alternative payment systems, ultimately leading Epic Games and Apple to appeal against the decision.
It is very possible that the new lawsuit is related to the verdict. If the judges stick with their opinion, Google is almost certain that it will win. In addition, the document is based on an argument that Apple could not use: there are more app stores on Android and people are not required to use only the Play Store. According to Google, you cannot speak of a monopoly.
Source: ZDnet
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