US appeals court agrees to pause Google app store reform order for now
Reuters ·
A U.S. appeals court on Friday agreed to delay a sweeping overhaul of Google's app store Play, as the technology giant continues to challenge a judge's order requiring the reforms in a lawsuit brought by “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Google's request for a temporary pause of the order. Google said earlier on Friday that it planned to further appeal the judge's October injunction, which a 9th Circuit panel upheld on Thursday in a unanimous decision.
The injunction, which had already been paused while the 9th Circuit considered Google's appeal, required Google to restore competition by allowing users to download rival app stores within its Play store and by making Play's app catalog available to those competitors, among other reforms.
Google said the lower court’s injunction was expected to take effect in 14 days absent a court order blocking it.
In granting Google's request for an administrative stay on Friday, the appeals court gave the company until Aug. 8 to ask the court to put the injunction on hold for the duration of its appeal.
Google said it plans to ask the full 9th Circuit to take up its appeal, and if necessary will seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Google and Epic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Epic in its 2020 lawsuit accused Google of monopolizing how consumers access apps on Android devices and pay for transactions within apps. The Cary, North Carolina-based company convinced a San Francisco jury in 2023 that Google illegally stifled competition.
U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco issued his Play store injunction against Google in October after a jury earlier ruled for Epic. Google has denied any wrongdoing.
In upholding the injunction on Thursday, a 9th Circuit panel said the record in Epic's lawsuit was “replete with evidence that Google’s anticompetitive conduct entrenched its dominance."
The case is Epic Games v. Google, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-6256.
For Epic: Gary Bornstein of Cravath, Swaine & Moore
For Google: Jessica Ellsworth of Hogan Lovells
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Source:
Reuters