Apple vs. Epic: Tip Cook Epic appeared in the legal ranks

 

Apple boss Tim Cook was the first to witness his company's major legal battle with Apple Games over alleged monopolies.

Epic, the maker of the hit video game Fortanite, claims that Apple's tight control over iPhone apps is hitting the competition.

During his appearance, Mr. Cook argued that having control of the App Store helps keep iPhones secure.

He added that he did not know if the App Store had made a profit, but told the court that Apple had not broken the figures.

Asked about the level of profit from the 30% commission on App Store sales, he said: "We don't have a separate profit and loss statement for the App Store."

Instead, he said he had a "feeling" that it was profitable - but could not

Mr Cook was asked about monitoring top-level decisions around App Store policies.

Judge Jovanne Gonzalez Rogers also questioned Mr. Cook, asking about the survey, which found that 39% of developers were dissatisfied with the App Store.

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Mr Cook said he was not familiar with the survey but said there was a "friction" because Apple had rejected 40% of applications weekly.

The judge also asked him if he was a gamer, so he admitted that he was not.

Mr Cook's counterpart in the case - Epic Games chief Tim Sweeney - had already appeared at the stand in the early days of the long-running legal battle.

The case?

There are two main issues at the center of this case: Apple app accepts 30% commission on app purchases and no alternative app store is allowed to provide any alternatives to the iPhone and iPad.

Epic's Fortnite is one of the world's most popular games and character making money through in-game purchases of costumes and other digital items.

This adds a lot more than the 30% cut on millions of such purchases - but Apple's rules will prevent the company from banning its payment methods if the iPhone app is sold.