Epic Games’ Key Demands After Winning Lawsuit Against Google,Epic Games has put forward an extensive set of proposed remedies following its victory over Google in federal court.
In a recently filed 16-page proposed injunction, Epic outlined the actions it believes Google should take to address the monopolistic practices the jury found.
Epic Games’ Key Demands After Winning Lawsuit Against Google.
Key points of Epic’s offering include:
- Ban Google from dictating where carriers and phone makers can put app stores on their devices.
- Ending the practice of sharing Google Play Store revenues between telecom operators and phone manufacturers.
- Ban agreements that prevent companies from distributing competing app stores.
- Eliminating Android app exclusivity deals and format provisions that require developers to offer the same terms on Google Play as on other platforms.
- Ensuring that downloading apps from third-party stores is as easy as downloading from Google Play, with no additional steps or warnings other than one click to download them.
- Providing equal access to the Android API for all developers, regardless of their use of the Google Play Store.
- Separate access to other Google products and services from use of Google Play.
- Giving third-party app stores access to the Google Play app catalog for six years and allowing users to update apps through those stores.
- Allowing third-party app stores to be featured on Google Play for six years without paying fees.
- Removing all restrictions and incentives that prevent the adoption of alternative payment methods, allowing developers to inform users about alternative payment methods without additional fees.
- Remove the requirement for developers to use Google Play Billing or User Choice Billing and allow the use of alternative payment solutions.
- Prohibition of discrimination or harassment of applications or developers who choose alternative payment systems.
- Create a Google compliance committee consisting of at least three board members who are not current or former employees and a compliance officer who will report annually to the court on Google’s compliance with the injunction.
It is important to note that this proposal is only a starting point for negotiations. Google has until May 2 to file its response, and Judge James Donato will hear from experts on both sides at a May 23 hearing. In addition, Google is expected to appeal the decision after the case is completed in district court.
While Epic’s proposed remedies are extensive, it is unlikely that a judge will grant them all. The final outcome of this case will be determined through further legal proceedings and negotiations between the parties.