'Fortnite' developer Epic Games files antitrust lawsuits against Apple, Google

The catalyst for Epic Games' lawsuit against Apple and Google started when the company released an update to 'Fortnite' offering their own payment option outside of Apple's and Google's app stores, which is against their policies.

After Apple and Google removed video game Fortnite from their respective app stores citing violations of their in-app payment guidelines, the game's developer Epic Games filed a federal antitrust lawsuit in the US against both companies. Epic Games isn't asking for money from the two tech giants. Instead, it wants injunctions to end their practices related to their app stores, notably the cut Apple and Google get from in-app purchases that reach as high as 30%.

The whole ordeal started when Epic Games pushed a server-side update for Fortnite that lets users bypass Apple's and Google's payment systems and choose Epic's option for in-app purchases. In return, players get a 20% discount for using Epic's payment option, which is against Apple's and Google's store policies. In response to that, both took out the game, and then Epic filed their lawsuit, which seems to be the company's intention right from the start.

Click to read more ...

Google countersues Sonos, citing patent infringement

Image courtesy of 9to5Google

Google fights back against Sonos and countersues the company for patent infringement. The tech giant claims Sonos is infringing five Google patents that involve mesh networking, echo cancellation, DRM, content notifications, and personalized search. Sonos initially filed a patent lawsuit against Google in January. This ongoing row has already resorted to a US International Trade Commission investigation.

The Verge says the lawsuit serves a couple of purposes: one is to countersue Sonos, and another is for the tech giant to show that it feels aggrieved after assisting Sonos with its product development.

Click to read more ...

Ubisoft sues Apple, Google for offering 'Rainbow Six: Siege' copycat

Screenshot courtesy of Qookka Games/Ejoy

Ubisoft thinks one mobile game available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store is blatantly copying Rainbow Six: Siege. Since the companies aren't taking the game down, it decided to take legal action against them. Ubisoft claims Area F2, a game developed by Alibaba's Ejoy and Qookka Games, is a "near carbon copy" and borrowed "virtually every aspect" of Rainbow Six so that it can "piggyback" on the game's success.

The game developer said it alerted Apple and Google about this reported copyright violations, but both companies so far have declined to pull Area F2 from their app stores. Ubisoft didn't say why it was suing the app store operators instead of the game's developers. But as Engadget points out, this might come down to region and accessibility. Ejoy is based in China, so making a foreign copyright challenge might be more difficult than cutting its access to some revenue it might get from Apple's and Google's app stores.

Audio ripping website Convert2MP3 shuts down following lawsuit settlement

Embed from Getty Images

For years audio ripping site Convert2MP3 lets its users download audio files from YouTube links and other sources. Now the site has been shut down as part of a 2017 lawsuit settlement. According to the global recording industry organization IFPI’s 2018 Music Consumer Insight Report, 38 percent of people around the world consume music through copyright infringement. Those who infringe use sites like Convet2MP3. The 2017 case was filed by German record labels in coordination with IFPI in the company’s home country of Germany. The labels claimed the site supported large-scale and sustained copyright violations by allowing people to get the audio from things like music videos.

To avoid litigation in court, Convert2MP3 agreed to shut down the site and any of its associated sites. The company also has to surrender its domains to IFPI. There’s also financial compensation included in the settlement and the site’s operator agrees to “not infringe copyright or circumvent technological protection measures in relation to recorded music in future.”

Source: IFPI