Court Overturns Apple’s Stay In Case With Epic

As a quick recap, about this time last year, Epic Games started a complete mess by trying to circumnavigate store fees that Apple and Google require for any purchase done through their mobile storefronts. This includes microtransactions, which was the thing Epic attempted to avoid. Soon after that Apple and Google removed Fortnite from the stores, causing an uproar by teenagers and leading to Epic release propaganda in support of what they believe is a just cause: A Dangerous line being straddled here. Of course, this led to a court case in the US, which we reported a while back had wrapped up for the time being.

One thing we’ve not been covering with such verbosity has been the cases in Europe and the thunder down under. The former of which we don’t have much to report on now, but the latter has found a new revelation in the continuing story of Apple Vs Epic. When the case was brought to Australian courts the US courts already had tongues wagging, with the two companies requesting a bench trial rather than that with a jury. A similar complaint against Apple was brought forth, but Apple set out an appeal they would go on to win. This granted them a temporary stay while the US courts sorted the mess out at home.

However, this past Friday court documents found by Daniel Van Boom of Cnet showed that Epic has now won an appeal to move the case forward within the Federal Courts of Australia. In short, there is no longer a wait, as this decision on Friday overturns Justice Nye Perram’s decision to grant the stay. The documentation states, “we are nevertheless satisfied that [Justice Perram’s] reasoning involved three errors of principle.” This cites a failure to make a cumulative assessment of the situation, not recognizing the juridical disadvantages of proceeding in the US courts, and, I quote, “The role of Apple Pty Limited.”

This does mean that while Justices Middleton, Jagot, and Moshinsky have ruled the case to move ahead without the stay, there is still no word on when the two will once again butt heads. So yes, the corporate cat-fight continues, and we’ll once again be set to watch more possible details be fleshed out. Details such as Epic paying several million dollars to fund their free weekly games on the Epic Games Store.