Law: Epic Games vs Apple/Google ongoing saga!

[RoutedScripter]

CourtListener Master Page:

Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc., 4:20-cv-05640 - CourtListener.com

Docket for Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc., 4:20-cv-05640 — Brought to you by Free Law Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating high quality open legal information.

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I'm not sure how much time and effort I'll put into this thread, perhaps I might do more details and analysis or even a "megathread" type of thing, but all things considered, it's about the Store-s, the SDKs, the APIs, the Games, Apps, the Unreal Engine, it's all software and it's tech so I think it doesn't need to go into The Lounge subforum.

Right now, in about 10 minutes, on 24 August 2020 a hearing on the temporary restaining order is set to being, at 3 PM PDT, that's 1.00 AM CEST on 25. August for Europe.

CLERKS NOTICE SETTING ZOOM HEARING. Temporary Restraining Order Hearing set for Monday, 8/24/2020 03:00 PM. This proceeding will be held via a Zoom webinar.Webinar Access: All counsel, members of the public, and media may access the webinar information at https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/ygr

 

[GreiverBlade]

well, epic could do like some other and just distribute the APK, and it would not even impair the microtransaction ...
granted that would only work for Android ... for the ultra hermetic fruity ecosystem : a loss ... tho i wonder how many Fortnite fruit addicted fans would switch to Android if that happened .... that would be hilarious ... for UE versus iOS and MACtools ... i find that utterly ridiculous and i wonder why Apple is going that way ...

i've read and reread the news mentioning the events .... but i fail to see why ... (for the UE, not for Fortnite ofc)

 

[RoutedScripter]

Dang it, I meddles with this and now im 10 minutes too late past 3 PM, and the "Webinar has reached the maximum number of participants, please try later" ... so much for the "public access" bunch of BS, they probably limit it to a 100 or something just like physical court room.

Anyway the current Apple's twist about messing with the Unreal Engine and the SDKs/APIs is being replied to by Epic Games here:

Apple admits that Epic Games, Inc. and Epic Games International S.à r.l. have separate PLAs and separate accounts. (Schiller Decl., ECF No. 37 ¶ 6.) Although Apple claims that Epic “administers these two accounts as if they are one” (id.), it cannot and does not deny the existence of two separate agreements. Indeed, Apple acknowledges that it charges a separate “annual program fee” for each account (id.), showing independent consideration for each agreement. Further, Apple’s assertion that the PLAs for each account were “renewed within a minute of each other” (id.) proves the point: they were not renewed at the same time with the same mouse click, because they are separate agreements. This is true not just for the PLAs to which Epic Games, Inc. and Epic Games International S.à r.l. are parties, but for all six of the PLAs between Apple and an Epic affiliate, as well as the Developer Enterprise Program License Agreement between Apple and Epic Games, Inc. Each is an independent and integrated agreement, each was executed by a different legal entity, and each is subject to a separate “annual program fee”.

Each of the alleged PLA violations in that notice relates exclusively to Fortnite, and does not implicate the Unreal Engine or any other part of Epic’s business. For example, the August 14 notice states that “your app”—i.e., Fortnite—“is in direct violation of” the PLA and refers to “introducing new payment functionality”, an “unauthorized payment system” and “allowing users to purchase digital items within the app without using the In-App Purchase API”. (Id.) Even if the contractual provisions purportedly breached by Fortnite were lawful, Apple’s revocation of all accounts affiliated with Epic and all access to developer tools (including for the Unreal Engine, which is not an App Store app), reaches far beyond the Team ID ‘84 account and the Epic Games, Inc. PLA.

Epic Games is arguing that the Unreal Engine / Tools / API / SDK stuff was managed by different entity, account and agreements, all completely decoupled from App Store stuff (Fortnite).

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.364265/gov.uscourts.cand.364265.43.0.pdf

So this is one of the strands this has jumped onto, but there's more ... now other Unreal Engine users and platform holders like Microsoft are piling on:

1. I am the General Manager, Gaming Developer Experiences for Microsoft. In this role, I oversee Microsoft’s support of game creators (including game developers, audio engineers, level designers, game producers, etc.) within the Xbox ecosystem. Among other things, my team helps game creators achieve their creative goals. I have been an engineer for more than 30 years, including more than 20 years at Microsoft, and have more than 10 years of experience supporting game creators across multiple platforms.

(e) Microsoft has an enterprise-wide, multi-year Unreal Engine license agreement and has invested significant resources and engineer time working with and customizing Unreal Engine for its own games on PC, Xbox consoles, and mobile devices (including iOS devices).

4. Apple’s discontinuation of Epic’s ability to develop and support Unreal Engine for iOS or macOS will harm game creators and gamers.

Hearing is over ... Judge said it wasn't inclined to the restraining order in favor of Epic Game's Fortnite returning to the Apple App Store, but it was in favor of returning Unreal Engine and associated tools. She will release a written statement soon, but the next hearing is on September 28th and it may be that Fortnite may not be on the App Store at least until that date or so.

There seemed to be some drama with the Apple Lawyer unable to answer simple questions. The Judge was also critical of the App Store.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FortNiteMobile/comments/icdjbj

https://twitter.com/x/status/1298039621025247233

https://twitter.com/x/status/1298025294889209856

https://twitter.com/x/status/1298028576982175744

https://twitter.com/x/status/1298035485621837826

Update: ORDER by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granting in part and denying in part 17 Motion for Temporary Restraining Order. (fs, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/24/2020)

Thus, in focusing on the status quo, the Court observes that Epic Games strategically chose to breach its agreements with Apple which changed the status quo. No equities have been identified suggesting that the Court should impose a new status quo in favor of Epic Games. By contrast, with respect to the Unreal Engine and the developer tools, the Court finds the opposite result. In this regard, the contracts related to those applications were not breached. Apple does not persuade that it will be harmed based on any restraint on removing the developer tools. The parties’ dispute is easily cabined on the antitrust allegations with respect to the App Store. It need not go farther. Apple has chosen to act severely, and by doing so, has impacted non-parties, and a third-party developer ecosystem. In this regard, the equities do weigh against Apple.

With respect to the Unreal Engine and the developer tools, the calculus changes. The record shows potential significant damage to both the Unreal Engine platform itself, and to the gaming industry generally, including on both third-party developers and gamers. The public context in which this injury arises differs significantly: not only has the underlying agreement not been breached, but the economy is in dire need of increasing avenues for creativity and innovation, not eliminating them. Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders. Certainly, during the period of a temporary restraining order, the status quo in this regard should be maintained. Weighing of Factors: In sum, the Court finds that based upon the record before it, the Winter factors weigh against granting a temporary restraining order based on Epic Games’ requests as to Fortnite and other games and in favor of granting a temporary restraining order based as to the Unreal Engine and other effected developer tools.

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.364265/gov.uscourts.cand.364265.48.0.pdf