Judge in Upcoming Epic v. Apple Trial to Limit In-Person Attendees

Apple and Epic Games lawyers are continuing to plan for their upcoming May 3 bench trial, and in a preparatory conference held today, the judge overseeing the case said that attendance will be limited due to the ongoing global health crisis (via Law360).

fortnite apple featured
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has been planning for an in-person trial because she believes that the case is significant enough that the court should hear it in person. She has also said in the past that Apple and ‌Epic Games‌ witnesses in the case will be less likely to lie when sworn in in a physical courtroom.

COVID-19 cases are dropping in the San Francisco Bay Area and people are getting vaccinated, which means the courtrooms are able to open up. Regardless of whether attendees have been vaccinated, however, masks will be required.

‌Epic Games‌ and Apple will each be limited to six people in the courtroom at a time, and the press and the public will not be able to attend in person, but live audio will be provided. All testifying witnesses will be given a clear mask so that the judge is able to clearly see responses, and legal teams will be able to wear cordless microphones to make them easy to hear.

Unused rooms in the courthouse may be able to be used for legal team meetings, but Gonzalez Rogers recommended that Apple and ‌Epic Games‌ rent office space across from the courthouse in case it's needed.

The trial is set to take place on May 3, and each side will have 45 hours to present their case. Each side is also allowed to submit 100,000 words that can be split up among experts for reports, and the deadline for exchanging reports is April 27.

Apple and ‌Epic Games‌ are expected to call a number of high-profile witnesses. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple Fellow Phil Schiller, and Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi will all be attending to defend the company's App Store practices.

Cook will be directly examined for one hour, with a one hour cross examination also included. Federighi will testify for two hours with a one hour cross examination, while Schiller, who is in charge of the ‌App Store‌, will testify for a total of 10 hours. Apple last week said that its senior executives are eager to share the impact that the ‌App Store‌ has had on economies around the world.

Our senior executives look forward to sharing with the court the very positive impact the ‌App Store‌ has had on innovation, economies across the world and the customer experience over the last 12 years. We feel confident the case will prove that Epic purposefully breached its agreement solely to increase its revenues, which is what resulted in their removal from the ‌App Store‌. By doing that, Epic circumvented the security features of the ‌App Store‌ in a way that would lead to reduced competition and put consumers' privacy and data security at tremendous risk.

‌Epic Games‌ witnesses include ‌Epic Games‌‌ CEO Tim Sweeney and other Epic employees, and third-party witnesses will include executives from Facebook, Microsoft, Nvidia. ‌Epic Games‌ also intends to call on iTunes chief Eddy Cue and former iOS software chief Scott Forstall, who was involved in the ‌App Store‌'s launch.

Apple lawyers today said all but one witness will testify in person, and Epic too plans to have most of its witnesses appear in person.

The May 3 trial will focus on Epic's accusation that Apple is a "behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation" by imposing "anti-competitive restraints" against ‌App Store‌ developers and employing "monopolistic practices in markets." ‌Epic Games‌' most popular title, Fortnite, has been out of the ‌App Store‌ for months now as the two companies await the trial.

‌Epic Games‌ plans to argue that the 30 percent cut that Apple takes from apps is "oppressive," as is the rule that requires developers to use in-app purchases. Apple recently lowered the 30 percent commission rate to 15 percent for developers that make under $1 million in a given calendar year, but this does not apply to major developers like ‌Epic Games‌.

Apple will argue that its ‌App Store‌ prices are fair and in line with other competing software marketplaces, and that its ‌App Store‌ policies offer important protections for consumers.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

WSJ: Apple Weighing Price Hikes for iPhone 17 Lineup Without Blaming Tariffs

Monday May 12, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
Apple is considering raising prices for its upcoming iPhone 17 models set to release this fall, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The Wall Street Journal. The company reportedly aims to pair the potential price hikes with new features and design changes to justify the increased cost to consumers, rather than attributing them to U.S. tariffs on goods from China. The...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Expected This Week With These New Features

Monday May 12, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple is expected to release iOS 18.5 to the general public this week. While the software update is relatively minor, it still includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.5. Pride Wallpaper Apple recently announced its 2025 Pride Collection, including a new Apple Watch band, watch face,...
tvOS 18 Feature

Apple Releases tvOS 18.5

Monday May 12, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.5, the latest version of the tvOS operating system. tvOS 18.5 comes a little over a month after the launch of tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.5 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software. ‌Apple TV‌ owners who have...
Mayday Calendar

Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond

Friday May 9, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now. Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act. Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
top stories 2025 05 10

Top Stories: iOS 18.5 Release Imminent, iPhone Rumors for 2025 and Beyond, and More

Saturday May 10, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
With Apple's developer conference where it will show off iOS 19 just a month away, the company is wrapping up work on iOS 18.5 ahead of an imminent release to deliver a few new features and updates. This week also saw a number of iPhone-related rumors, encompassing not only this year's iPhone 17 lineup but also Apple's plans for 2026 and 2027, even as Apple's Eddy Cue suggested AI could make ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

20th Anniversary iPhone Will Be Mostly Glass With All-Screen Design

Monday May 12, 2025 2:52 am PDT by
Apple will mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone X in 2027 by launching a mostly glass, curved iPhone without any cutouts in the display, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said the all-screen device will arrive later in 2027, suggesting a fall release. The model will be preceded by Apple's first foldable iPhone, claims the reporter....

Top Rated Comments

WiseAJ Avatar
54 months ago

Go Epic! Thanks for fighting the fight, for the fairness and dignity of all developers big and small, and for an OS that allows installing everything we want, as it should be.
That OS already exists, its called Android.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
countryside Avatar
54 months ago

Go Epic! Thanks for fighting the fight, for the fairness and dignity of all developers big and small, and for an OS that allows installing everything we want, as it should be.
Go to FortniteRumors.com with that opinion. EPIC is lucky to even have the option to sell their game on the App Store. Apple can do what they want, they are a private company. They can ban Parler, they can charge 80% commission for all I care. Nobody makes EPIC sell an app. Follow the rules or get lost.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
grahamwright1 Avatar
54 months ago

Sorry it hurt you, I know it must be difficult but just as you can I also can share my opinion on this forum.
...and your opinion differs from many of us who want to retain the current App Store where we can be pretty sure we aren't downloading malware. Have you tracked the sheer number of Android app's that have been found forwarding user information from Android devices to corporate and individual websites?

After 40 years using everything from mainframes, through mini's, micro's, Windows, and Mac systems, I truly appreciate the approach and care that Apple take with iOS. Clearly you don't, so why not just switch over to one of the many Android devices readily available?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WiseAJ Avatar
54 months ago

And it will soon be called iOS, if common sense and fair regulations are applied.

It will be called iOS if government overreach succeeds. It will eliminate the only closed OS system and that feature is one that many many many people buy iPhones for. There already is a fair freedom of choice in the market with iOS (Closed) vs Android (Open). Common sense is to leave it alone and not punish Apple for having a financially successful ecosystem.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abazigal Avatar
54 months ago
Go Epic! Thanks for fighting the fight, for the fairness and dignity of all developers big and small, and for an OS that allows installing everything we want, as it should be.
Epic is not doing this for the benefit of consumers or developers. They just want to burn down the whole App Store model for their own financial gain.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WiseAJ Avatar
54 months ago
Cant wait for the Epic beat down Apple is going to give Epic Games
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)