The legal battle between Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google and "Fortnite" creator Epic Games continues, with lawyers for both companies set to appear before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Monday.
Google is seeking to overturn a jury verdict and a subsequent judge's order that would force the tech giant to overhaul its app store practices.
At the heart of the dispute is Epic Games' 2020 lawsuit accusing Google of monopolizing app access and in-app payment processing on Android devices.
In 2023, a San Francisco jury sided with Epic, finding that Google had indeed stifled competition.
U.S. District Judge James Donato then ordered Google to implement significant changes, including allowing users to download rival app stores within the Google Play store and making Play's app catalog available to competitors.
However, this order is currently on hold pending the outcome of Google's appeal.
Google argues that Judge Donato made several legal errors during the trial, unfairly benefiting Epic.
They contend that their Play store faces fierce competition from Apple's App Store and that Donato wrongly allowed Epic to argue that Google and Apple are not competitors in app distribution and in-app payments.
Google also claims the judge overstepped his authority by issuing a nationwide order impacting users and developers, arguing it amounts to "central planning."
Epic, meanwhile, is urging the 9th Circuit to uphold the original verdict and injunction, accusing Google of a "years-long strategy to suppress competition."
They stated their commitment to "fight to ensure that the jury's verdict and the court's injunction are upheld and Google is held to account for its anticompetitive behavior."
The stakes are high, with Microsoft, the U.S. Justice Department, and the Federal Trade Commission all filing briefs in support of Epic.
The 9th Circuit's ruling, expected later this year, could have significant implications for the app store landscape.
Regardless of the outcome, the case could ultimately land before the U.S. Supreme Court.