Reuters reports that the U.S. Justice Department has chosen to be a part of Epic Games’ appeal against Apple and its officials will present oral arguments at the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on October 21, 2022, on the misinterpretation of the Sherman Act by the lower court.
In 2020, Epic Games sued Apple over App Store 30% commission for all in-app purchases claiming that the tech giant violated antitrust laws. However, in 2021, Judge Roger ruled in favor of Apple that the App Store commission did not violate antitrust law. The court also found Epic in breach of contract.
DOJ will argue against misinterpretation of the Sherman Act in the Epic Games vs. Apple case
In 2022, Epic Games filed an appeal at Ninth Circuit Court stating that the court “made errors”. In addition, to pursuing an antitrust investigation against Apple, DOJ also supported Epic’s appeal.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department filed its brief in the case to argue the merits of the initial judgment, not to take any party’s side.
According to the report, Apple and Epic will be given 20 minutes to present their oral arguments and DOJ will take half of Epic Games’ time at the upcoming hearing.
In January, the Justice Department entered the case by filing a brief. Antitrust officials said they did not support either side in the disputes at hand but were concerned that the lower court’s ruling had improperly interpreted the Sherman Act, the country’s primary antitrust law. On Friday, U.S. officials asked for 10 minutes of argument time.
“The United States believes that its participation at oral argument would be helpful to the court, especially in explaining how the errors (in antitrust law interpretation) could significantly harm antitrust enforcement beyond the specific context of this case,” the Justice Department wrote in the filing.
In its appeal filing, Apple argued that Epic was unable to provide substantial evidence against it in the district court and the appeal was a gimmick “to change the narrative” by accusing the court of making an error.
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