Epic v. Google: everything we’re learning live in Fortnite court

It’s exactly what you’d expect after the Fortnite maker said it was entitled to everything and a bag of chips due to its antitrust victory in federal court. Google wants Judge James Donato to think different:

“Epic’s demands would harm the privacy, security, and overall experience of consumers, developers, and device manufacturers. Not only does their proposal go far beyond the scope of the recent U.S. trial verdict – which we will be challenging – it’s also unnecessary due to the settlement we reached last year with State Attorneys General from every state and multiple territories.”

We’ll find out exactly how Android and the Google Play Store will change in a hearing that begins on May 23rd.

Xu Yuan, a friendly courtroom reporter for MLex that I sat with regularly during the trial, managed to obtain an interview with one of the Epic v. Google jurors — who confirmed that Google’s deleted chats affected their decision.

That same juror found Tim Sweeney “very honest” and more credible than Google’s CEO.

In case you’re wondering why Tim Sweeney was thanking jurors on behalf of 1 million developers... it’s part of this blog post, too.

We plan to challenge the verdict. Android and Google Play provide more choice and openness than any other major mobile platform. The trial made clear that we compete fiercely with Apple and its App Store, as well as app stores on Android devices and gaming consoles. We will continue to defend the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem. - Wilson White, VP, Government Affairs & Public Policy

That's not surprising: a jury gave Epic a total victory today.

“Victory over Google! After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts. The Court’s work on remedies will start in January. Thanks for everyone’s support and faith! Free Fortnite!”

The jury is all smiles. "The one million game developers who couldn't be here thank you," says Sweeney, as they head into the elevator and down out of the courthouse.

He thanked Google’s lead attorney Glenn Pomerantz “for being very professional” and clapped Epic’s lead attorney Gary Bornstein on the back.

Attorneys for both sides will meet with the judge in the second week of January to discuss next steps.

Stand by... attorneys and journalists have filed back into the courtroom. We’re waiting for the judge and jury now.

Bornstein asked the jury to carefully read the jury instructions because Google apparently cherry-picked a sentence to point out to them earlier. He also asked them to consider whether Google tried to nip competition in the bud before it could ever emerge.

The jury filed out, the judge thanked both parties for preparing the case well and arguing it efficiently... and now, we’re done until there’s a verdict! It sounds like the jury will eat lunch before beginning deliberations, so I should have time to grab some food as well.

Epic is getting eight minutes of rebuttal to Google’s closing argument, and lead attorney Gary Bornstein is using part of it to argue this: we should look at the internal documents in this case to see what’s actually going on.

“What did they say in their documents? That tells you what they believed in the real world.”

He begins by showing one of the emails Google showed us about reacting to an Apple change in price — and that Google chose not to follow that price change at the time.

“They chose not to change their price despite believing that Apple was changing theirs,” he says, and “during that time not a single developer pulled out of the Play Store to focus on iOS.”

Kravis says it’s a “reliable and efficient way to collect the fee” to tie it to its own billing system — which is why every other app and game platform does it the same way, he claims.

But unlike Epic, it’s using red X’s instead of check marks on its visual aids.

Google has come around to Tim Sweeney’s “billions” quote once again, painting Epic as a self-serving company. The antitrust laws do not require Google to give up its services for free, says Kravis.

He also took us back to the testimony of an Epic employee who was more than uncomfortable with Epic’s Project Liberty trap for Google, asking, “Are we just pawns in Tim’s game?”

“I’m sorry, your honor, but I believe this is contrary to the court’s order,” interrupts Epic lead attorney Gary Bornstein, The judge lets Google’s attorney proceed but tells him to “walk carefully.”

“Consider this: the facts remain unchanged. The data remains unchanged,” begins Kravis.

“Time and again during this trial, you saw Epic overreach,” he adds, explaining how Epic wasn’t able to prove things like Project Hug were direct bribes or that Samsung was in collusion with Google.

Perhaps thinking about the judge’s warning, Epic moves on — Kravis is now pointing out that Epic is just trying to get a free ride on Google Play now. Here’s one quote from that:

“Epic can’t pocket the money in its own store and then stand up here and tell you it’s trying to protect the consumer.”

Just a good quote about Google’s testimony, which I don’t think quite lands because Google’s internal emails show the company was actively worried about “other options” arising on Android if Google didn’t take action.