Epic Games Submits Complaint Against Apple in UK

· Andrew Orr · Link

The latest move in the Epic v Apple legal battle involves the former expanding its complaint to other countries. This was made public [PDF] by the Competition Appeal Tribunal of the UK.

This is an important argument to make on behalf of consumers and developers in the U. K. and around the world who are impacted by Apple and Google’s misuse of market power. Epic is not seeking damages from Apple or Google in the U. K., Australia or the U. S., it is simply seeking fair access and competition that will benefit all consumers.

Jailbreak Store ‘Cydia’ Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple

· Andrew Orr · Link

Cydia app icon

The creator of the old Cydia app store is suing Apple, claiming it used anti-competitive means to squash it.

“Were it not for Apple’s anticompetitive acquisition and maintenance of an illegal monopoly over iOS app distribution, users today would actually be able to choose how and where to locate and obtain iOS apps, and developers would be able to use the iOS app distributor of their choice,” the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Northern California and Cydia is represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan.

I don’t see where the anti-competitive part comes in. Cydia was before the App Store, so Apple created that to compete, not “anti-compete.”

Big Tech Sues Patent Office Over Legal-Related Rule

· Andrew Orr · Link

Apple, Cisco, Intel, and Google have sued the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office over it’s recent rule that it can refuse to adjudicate patent claims while litigation about them is pending in court.

The rule, which was introduced by the USPTO in March and became final in May, deals with the agency’s obligations around inter partes review (IPR) — a sort of expert-court process for assessing whether patent claims are valid. USPTO says deferring to an ongoing court case is more efficient than setting up a parallel review internally.

Richard Hoeg’s YouTube Playlist Covers the Epic v. Apple Case

· Andrew Orr · Cool Stuff Found

Lawyer Richard Hoeg made a YouTube playlist that covers the Epic v. Apple case. Each video explains the case for viewers and offers his perspective on it. It’s a great playlist to check out for commentary, especially if you want something more than the boring legal PDFs I’ve been sharing at The Mac Observer.