Apple is “unlikely” to avoid production of the source code for its Touch ID and Face ID technology to an Australian non-practicing entity that has sued the Silicon Valley company for patent infringement, a judge has said.
A judge has held off selecting from a “basket of imponderables” in determining how he will hear two competition lawsuits by Epic Games against Apple and Google over the removal of the popular multiplayer game Fortnite from the tech giants’ online stores.
Epic Games has argued in favour of steaming ahead with a trial in its competition case against Apple while its parallel case against Google remains in the embryonic stage, but the tech giants say Google’s litigation should catch up in the hopes that the court can hear a joint trial or hold contemporaneous hearings.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is considering whether new laws are needed to rein in Google, Apple and Facebook, including rules to curb self-preferencing conduct and strengthen the merger review framework.
A patent holding company has won its legal dispute with a rival over biometric security patents the subject of an infringement case against Apple.
Apple has fired back in a lawsuit alleging its iPhone and iPad devices equipped with Touch ID and Face ID technology infringe patents held by an Australian non-practicing entity, hitting the company with its own case claiming the patents are invalid.
Apple has reached the end of the line in its attempts to move a competition dispute with Fortnite game maker Epic Games to California, with the High Court denying the tech company’s special leave application to appeal a judgment that found there were “strong reasons” for keeping the matter in Australia.
Apple has rejected claims that it misused its market power by pulling Epic Games’ popular Fortnite game from its App Store and says the move did not affect the game developer’s business because most of its revenue comes from other platforms.
Apple and Google’s legal woes in Australia are set to worsen, with a leading class action firm preparing to file class actions against the Silicon Valley giants for alleged competition and consumer law violations.
Epic Game’s plan to lead econometric evidence in its dispute with Apple could be the first time such evidence has been led in a competition case in Australia, a judge has said, as he warned that the companies’ “unlimited resources and enthusiasm for victory” should not bog the case down.