The Epic vs Apple decision

On Friday, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued her judgment and counter-judgment on Epic Games’s lawsuit against Apple.

John Gruber writing on Daring Fireball: “It seems pretty clear to me that Apple got a huge victory, and Epic was served an even huger loss.”

If you want to read only one legal analysis about the ruling in the Epic-Apple lawsuit, read the one by John Voorhees’s:

What Does It All Mean?: A Look at Judge Gonzalez Rogers’ Decision in the Epic Versus Apple Trial

So, while the decision is undeniably a win for Apple in many respects, it’s also a decidedly mixed bag. I’ve taken the time to read Judge Gonzalez Rogers’ 185-page decision and having written an in-depth look at the issues going into the trial, I thought I’d follow up with what the Court’s ruling is likely to mean for Epic and Apple as well as all developers and consumers.

So, how does all this impact me the user? For now, it probably doesn’t.

I also expect a cross-appeal from Apple of the injunction. Equitable relief of this sort is also hard to overturn on appeal because, like the antitrust decision, the ruling is heavily fact-based. However, an appeal means that, in all likelihood, the injunction won’t take effect in 90 days. That’s not a certainty, but it’s not unusual for orders of this sort to be stayed pending the outcome of an appeal.