Google requests the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling on app store monopoly

According to Zhitong Finance APP, Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet (GOOGL.US), requested on Wednesday that the U.S. Court of Appeals overturn the jury's verdict and the judge's order, which forces it to modify its app store Google Play. In the first detailed argument submitted to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Google stated that the trial judge made legal errors that unfairly benefited the plaintiff, Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite. Google stated in court documents that the demand for a "complete redesign" of Google Play and its mobile operating system Android would harm the interests of app developers and consumers. Epic stated in a statement on Wednesday that Google's grounds for appeal are "flawed," but the jury rejected this argument. Epic said, "This baseless appeal is Google's desperate attempt to avoid complying with the jury's unanimous decision." In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Epic accused Google of monopolizing the way consumers access apps on Android devices and how they make in-app payment transactions. The company convinced a San Francisco jury last year that Google illegally stifled competition. According to the jury's findings, U.S. District Judge James Donato ordered Google in October to allow users to download competing app stores in Google Play and provide these competitors with the app catalog from Google Play, along with other reforms. The order will be binding on Google for three years and is currently awaiting review by the Ninth Circuit Court. On Wednesday, Google told the appeals court that the jury should not have heard Epic's lawsuit because the jury was attempting to prohibit Google's actions rather than seeking damages. Google stated that Donato unfairly allowed Epic to tell the jurors that Google and Apple are not competitors in app distribution and in-app payments. The document stated that Donato's issuance of the injunction was erroneous, as the injunction affects users and developers nationwide, not just Epic. Google stated that the order made Donato "the central planner responsible for product design." The Ninth Circuit Court stated it would hear oral arguments on February 3 and is expected to make a ruling later next year