Apple and Epic Games have listed their top executives as possible witnesses in a case between the iPhone maker and the developer of the video game over the App Store payment system, court documents showed.
Apple and Epic Games, the creator of the popular game Fortnite, have been in a legal battle since last year, when Epic Games tried to evade a 30 percent App Store fee by launching their own in-app payment system. This move led Apple to ban Fortnite from its store.
In addition to CEO Tim Cook, Apple also named software chief Craig Federighi and App Store vice president Matt Fischer to an indefinite list of witnesses submitted to the Oakland Region Northern District U.S. District Court, a copy of which has been viewed by Reuters.
Epic Games listed founder and CEO Tim Sweeney, game store manager Steve Allison, and Thomas Ko, head of online business strategy, among his own witnesses for the lawsuit. .
“The chorus of developers speaking out against Apple and their anticompetitive practices has escalated,” Epic Games said in a statement.
Apple did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, but told Bloomberg in a statement that it felt “confident that the case would prove that Epic had deliberately breached its agreement to increase its revenue.” . “
Epic Games also took its fight against Apple to EU trust regulators after failing to make its way into the US. CEO Sweeney said Apple’s control of its platform has given it access.
“The 30 percent they charge as their app tax, they can do 50 percent or 90 percent or 100 percent. Under their theory of how these markets are structured, they have a right to do that, “he said last month.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
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