The main trial in the Apple v. Epic Games case is set to begin in May. A preliminary list of witnesses has now been sent to Apple executives - Tim Cook is also expected to testify.
The preliminary first witness list sent to Apple by the U.S. District Court Northern District of California Oakland Division mentions the company's CEO Tim Cook, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi and Vice President of the App Store Matt Fischer. The document also includes Apple Fellow Phil Schiller for "development and launch of the App Store; App Store policies; the App Store business model," and more. In a statement obtained by 9to5Mac, explained Apple said its "senior executives look forward to sharing the positive impact the App Store has had on innovation." Specifically, it says:
Epic Games demands seven-hour presence of Tim Cook
Our senior executives look forward to sharing with the court the very positive impact the App Store has had on innovation, the global economy, and the customer experience over the past 12 years. We are confident that the case will prove that Epic intentionally violated the agreement solely to increase its revenue, resulting in its removal from the App Store. In doing so, Epic circumvented the App Store's security features in a way that reduces competition and greatly endangers consumer privacy and data security.
The whole dispute between Apple and Epic Games started in August last year after Apple removed the game Fortnite from the App Store removed The reason for this was that Epic Games tried to circumvent Apple's payment system in order to avoid paying the 30 percent fee. This case triggered a series of events that were followed with great excitement. Most recently, Epic Games wanted the phone number of former Apple manager Scott Forstall, which the iPhone manufacturer allegedly does not have. Epic also wants Tim Cook to attend the court proceedings for seven hours and answer all of the game developer's questions. Just on Friday, Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney lashed out at Apple in several tweets because it had promoted Fortnite competitor PUBG Mobile in the App Store. (Photo by nikkimeel / Bigstockphoto)
