There have been some big legal changes in the longstanding legal dispute of Epic Games and Google so with that a U.S. appeals court has halted the necessary Google Play Store modifications. The temporary halt gives Google time to appeal a lower court decision that would have upended its app store model.
The lawsuit accuses Google of maintaining an illegal monopoly over app distribution and billing—allegations Google has denied—in a case brought by the maker of the popular game Fortnite, Epic Games. The court ruling had initially called for changes to the Google Play Store to enable competing app stores on Android and would give them access to Google’s app catalog. The reason behing these changes was to make continent a more level playing ground.
Google, however, claimed that those modifications to Google Play Store would then create more security issues and disadvantage the company from a competitive standpoint. The company then went on to file an emergency request over the ruling.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has now granted Google a temporary pause until August 8th and has also given the company time to ask for an extended stay. This decision will keep Google free to continue its litigation — all the way through, conceivably, to the U.S. Supreme Court.
EPIc vs. Google: Why Google Play Changes Are Occurring
Epic shuttered August 2020 with its lawsuit against Google and Apple. Epic did not get everything it wanted in last year’s case against Apple but fared better against Google. In 2023, a jury reached a verdict that Google has unlawfully maintained an illegal monopoly over the app store and in-app billing on Android.
That prompted a court that ordered Google Play Store modifications so extensive they would revolutionize how apps are distributed and monetized on Android. And if put into effect, those changes could fundamentally alter the way users and developers learn about, and find apps on the Play Store.
Why This Case Is Not The Same As Apple’s
The courts understood that Android, as an ecosystem, is vastly different from the walled garden Apple operates. With Apple controlling both the hardware and software, competition inside its ecosystem is assuredly… a different beast than Google — which licenses out Android to third-party device makers.
The court of appeal said the changes to Google Play Store were on “meaningfully different commercial realities” than those on Apple, suggesting that was part of what made Epic’s case stronger.
The Next Chapter for the Google Play Store
Nothing will happen to Google Play Store until the appeals are clear. Yet the implications of how it all shakes out could be felt throughout the app economy for years to come. Going forward, if this injunction does eventually remain in effect, it could mean developers will have some degree of freedom when it comes to distributing and monetizing their apps on Android outside of Google’s billing systems.
Google Play Store May Not See Changes For Now, But This Legal Tussle Is Being Closely Watched By The Industry. It has the potential to reshape mobile app marketplaces for millions using Android smart phones across the globe
FAQ
U.S. judge says Google broke law to maintain Android app monopoly, calls for major changes to app stores
Not yet, as an appeals court has paused the changes while Google files for additional appeals.
And if Epic could win, it could give all 3rd-party app stores (whether they like it or not) more access and flexibility in different ways to distribute and monetize apps on top of Android.
