Apple is considering a lawsuit against Epic Games over fees for certain App Store purchases. Earlier today, Apple released a list of witnesses who will testify in the Epic Games trial on Friday. The list includes the company's CEO Tim Cook and "Apple Academic" Phil Schiller. Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, will also testify.
According to reports, Tim Cook will testify directly for 1 hour and will also take 1 hour of cross-examination. Federighi will testify for 2 hours and be cross-examined for 1 hour. Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store, will testify for a total of 10 hours. All Apple witnesses will appear before the court in person.
In a statement, Apple said company executives are eager to share the App Store's impact on innovation and the global economy. His statement says
“Our senior executives look forward to sharing with the court the very positive impact the App Store has had on innovation, the global economy and the customer experience over the past 12 years. We are confident that the case will prove that Epic purposefully violated their agreement solely to increase their revenue, which resulted in their removal from the App Store. In doing so, Epic circumvented the App Store's security features in a way that would have diminished competition and put the privacy and security of consumer data at extreme risk."
Apple and Epic witnesses in the case
Apple's witness list also includes
- VP App Store Matt Fisher
Head of Engineering Algorithms and Risks, Eric Friedman
Director of Trade and Payments, Eric Gray
Game Development Manager, Mark Grimm
Other employees from marketing, developer relations, and other industries
In addition, Epic Games is a witness
- CEO of Epic Games Tim Sweeney
Epic staff
Other outside witnesses include
- Microsoft
- Nvidia
- plus iTunes head Eddie Cue
- Former head of iOS software, Scott Forstall
Additionally, Epic Games claims that this fight is not just about itself. The statement says
“The chorus of developers speaking out against Apple and its anti-competitive practices is getting louder. We are not alone in this struggle. We look forward to seeing our competition in the app distribution and payment process.”
Epic Games defies Apple's 30% commission on sales over $1 million. The company gathered as many witnesses as possible to prove its case. This case will be a trial. This means that it will not involve a jury. The trial will begin on Monday, May 3.
