Epic's Australian lawsuit against Apple can move forward, court decides

Australia's Federal Court on Friday decided that Epic Games' antitrust case against Apple and the tech giant's App Store practices can move forward, a reversal of a previous ruling that put the motion on ice as the two parties await a ruling in the U.S.

Epic first lodged suit against against Apple in Australia last November, claiming the iPhone maker's tight control over the App Store ran afoul of the country's antirust laws. Like a nearly identical case in the U.S., that has since been heard in California court, Epic took issue with Apple's cut of App Store sales, policies prohibiting outside payments processing and restrictions on third-party app stores.In December, Apple asked Australia's Federal Court to toss the case, citing the pending U.S. action. After considering the motion, Justice Nye Perram granted Apple a three-month stay that would be made permanent if Epic failed to move forward with the U.S. case.

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