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ARTICLE · 27 SEPTEMBER 2021

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Epic Games v Apple: An $85bn Judgment?

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We've posted about this dispute several times before (on the initial filing, the UK version, and the EC antitrust complaint). Now, with the California judgment finally out, what's the verdict?

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Matthew Hunt
Matthew Hunt

We've posted about this dispute several times before (on the initial filing, the UK version, and the EC antitrust complaint). Now, with the California judgment finally out, what's the verdict?

Bloomberg reported that the judgment caused Apple to lose $85bn of its market value. However, that only amounted to a 3.3% drop in share price, and overall, Apple was the clear winner, prevailing on 9 out of 10 issues in dispute. Epic did succeed on one count: the Judge agreed that Apple's "anti-steering" rules banning developers from telling users about alternatives to Apple's in-app purchase system were anti-competitive under California state law. Epic has also appealed the verdict.

A lot of ink has already been spilled summarising the judgment and findings, so I just wanted to pull out a few interesting aspects:

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