Epic Games Vs. Apple Antitrust Battle Continues In Australia

While we’re still waiting on Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers’ verdict on the Epic Games vs. Apple antitrust lawsuit in the US, Epic is now preparing to wage war on the tech giant once again in Australian courts.

Epic Games filed a similar antitrust lawsuit against Apple in Australia in November 2020 but was temporarily put on hold after the presiding judge, Judge Nye Perram, ordered a three-month stay in April 2021. Judge Perram issued the ruling following Apple’s motion to dismiss the Australian case due to the ongoing case in the US.

According to Gamasutra, the Federal Court of Australia recently overturned Judge Perram’s ruling following an appeal from Epic Games. In the appeal, Epic’s legal team argued that the issues presented in the lawsuit should be more important than policies regarding jurisdiction and the pending verdict in the US. Following the Federal Court’s recent ruling, Epic released a statement saying that they were thankful that their antitrust battle with Apple can now be “examined in the context of Australian laws.”

“This is a positive step forward for Australian consumers and developers, who are entitled to fair access and competitive pricing across mobile app stores,” said Epic Games. “We look forward to continuing our fight for increased competition in app distribution and payment processing in Australia and around the world.”

Apple responded with this statement:

“The initial decision in April from Australia's Federal Court correctly ruled that Epic should be held to the agreement it made to resolve disputes in California. We respectfully disagree with the ruling made today and plan to appeal.”

More on this as events unfold in the land down under.