Australia suspends Apple-Epic case as battle shifts to US

According to Gizmodo Australia, Apple had asked for a permanent stay of the case in Australia, arguing that the US and Australia cases were very similar.

San Francisco/Sydney: As Apple and Fortnite developer Epic Games continue to battle in the US, an Australian judge has ruled that Epics lawsuit against Apple in Australia will be temporarily suspended.

According to Gizmodo Australia, Apple had asked for a permanent stay of the case in Australia, arguing that the US and Australia cases were very similar.

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Justice Nye Perram has ordered that the case be temporarily stayed for a period of three months.

“If Epic does not commence a suit in the US alleging contraventions to Australian Consumer Law within three months then the case will be permanently stayed,” the report said on Saturday.

As the lawsuit hearing in the case of Fortnite game developer Epic and Apple is set to begin next month, the two companies have reiterated their stands before the trial, as they got themselves involved in a legal battle over the use of an in-game payment system.

While Epic Games argues about Apple’s monopoly over the app market and treats 30 per cent standard fee amount to anti-competitive behaviour that must be regulated by antitrust law, Apple contends that “the whole antitrust allegation and associated dust-kicking is little more than a PR stunt,” reports TechCrunch.

Apple CEO Tim Cook as well as Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney may testify in the trial, set to begin from May 3.

For Apple, the proposed witness list also includes Software Engineering Senior Vice President Craig Federighi and Apple Fellow, Phil Schiller.

On team Epic, the Vice President Mark Rein is also included as witness, besides Sweeney.

The Fortnite game was removed from App Store in August of last year after the company allegedly violated rules by adding an in-game payment system aimed at depriving Apple of its commission on in-app purchases from App Store.