While understandably most of the attention in the Epic vs. Google and Apple legal scuffle has been focused on the suit being heard in the US, there’s a similar legal complaint playing out in the UK, with Epic bringing both mobile manufacturers’ actions against Fortnite to the attention of the country’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
The claims in question were filed to the CAT in December of last year but were only recently brought to public notice and read very much like the arguments made by Epic in the US in August of last year: In Epic’s estimation, Apple and Google are “unfairly restricting competition” and “reserving to [themselves] the sole payment processing mechanism for purchases of in-app content,” as well as “[engaging] in anti-competitive agreements/concerted practices in the UK and EU” to “charge unfair prices for the distribution of apps.” The complaint seeks to bring Fortnite — and Epic’s own alternate payment processing — back to both mobile platforms’ respective storefronts.
This appears to be part of a global strategy for Epic Games, as readers will recall that the company has also filed a suit against Apple in Australia. As for the legal effort here in the US, that’s still set for a bench trial in May.
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