The legal brouhaha between Apple and Epic Games will go before a judge on May 3, 2021, earlier than the anticipated July date.
The United States District Court of the Northern District of California announced the date for the trial, which was moved forward partly due to the court’s pandemic-fueled jury trial backlog. Despite a judge’s recommendation, Apple and Epic agreed on a bench trial rather than a jury trial.
The companies have to “jointly file one proposed agenda” by October 15. Pretrial fact-finding, which includes submissions and rebuttals, kicks off on February 15.
In a September court filing, the combative companies said that, after conferring, both agree the matter should be decided by the court. Previously, Apple wanted a jury trial, but has withdrawn the request to streamline proceedings after a California judge hinted that a jury trial probably wouldn’t start until July 2021.
All this originated on Aug. 13 when 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. Epic immediately filed a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
