Apple doesn’t have to turn over business docs in legal battle with Epic Games

Epic Games failed to convince a California federal judge that Apple should have to turn over documents about its business activities abroad as part of the video game maker’s antitrust fight with the tech behemoth over App Store fees, reports Law360 (a subscription is required to read the entire article).

This is all part of an ongoing legal battle between Apple and Epic. On Aug. 13, 2020, Epic Games announced that it had introduced a new direct payment option in the Fortnite app for iPhone and iPad, allowing players to purchase 1000 V-Bucks for US$7.99 rather than $9.99 through Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism. Shortly thereafter, Apple removed the gamer from the App Store for violating store polices and followed up by shutting down the company’s developer account.  Epic immediately filed a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

In September Apple filed a countersuit to stop the game maker from using its own payment system for Fortnite. Apple also accused Epic of theft and sought extra monetary damages beyond breach of contract.