Conor Bannan

The ACCC has won court approval to make submissions on relief in Fortnite game maker Epic Games' case against Apple, after a judge found the tech company misused its market power in the app marketplace.

Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart could be on the hook for millions of dollars in royalty payments, in a long-running battle over lucrative iron ore mining tenements in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart is on the hook for royalties payable to the heirs of iron ore pioneers Don Rhodes and Peter Wright, a judge has held in a long-running battle over lucrative tenements in the Pilbara region.

A hearing set for this week on relief sought by Fortnite maker Epic Games in its competition case against Google will not go ahead as planned, after the companies reached a global settlement. But the terms of the deal remain to be approved by the ACCC.

A judge has said he will not be able to decide all the suppression applications in the ACCC’s misuse of market power case against Mastercard ahead of trial, saying the court was facing an “unreasonable, if not oppressive” burden.

Mastercard has lost its challenge to a ruling requiring it to hand over communications about agreements with retailers in a misuse of market power case brought by the competition regulator. 

A hearing on the relief Fortnite maker Epic Games is entitled to in its successful competition case against Google and Apple could be affected by a hearing on a worldwide settlement reached by Google, a judge has said.

Orders proposed by Apple after a judge’s finding that the digital giant and rival Google engaged in anti-competitive conduct would “rob the court’s findings of their detail, their efficacy and their bite”, Epic Games has said.

The competition regulator has cited the public interest in its misuse of market power case against Mastercard in fighting suppression applications by the credit card giant and its heavy-hitter customers, including Coles and Visa.

HWL Ebsworth, which was found liable for negligent advice on a Parramatta land development, wants the issue of damages returned to two referees, saying the experts' findings would have a significant impact on how much the firm had to pay.