Judge rules in the first court battle in Epic vs Apple
Epic judge will protect Unreal Engine — but not Fortnite The Verge: By Russell Brandom, Sean Hollister, and Jay Peters Aug 25, 2020,
Epic Games just won a temporary restraining order against Apple — at least in part. Effective immediately, Apple can’t retaliate against the company by terminating the developer account used to support the company’s Unreal Engine. But in the same ruling, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers decided that Apple will not be required to bring Fortnite — which it had banned after Epic added an in-app payment system in violation of Apple’s rules — back to the App Store.
“The Court finds that with respect to Epic Games’ motion as to its games, including Fortnite, Epic Games has not yet demonstrated irreparable harm. The current predicament appears of its own making,” Rogers wrote, saying that Epic “strategically chose to breach its agreements with Apple” and thus disturb the status quo.
I’m enjoying watching this battle play out. All the Apple pundit’s have opinions on this and can’t stop reading and listening to what they have to say.
I tend to side with Apple on this because of the brazen and calculating way Epic has brought this on. Two big tech companies fighting it out over money.
And the discovery! These trials mean that both sides get to demand documents and emails that would otherwise never see the light of day. The thing hasn’t even started yet and we’ve already gotten a chance to see the emails between Epic and Apple that led to Fortnite’s App Store ban.
Buckle-up and enjoy the ride.
