Epic Games, Inc. v. Google LLC

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJuly 31, 2025
Docket25-303
StatusPublished

This text of Epic Games, Inc. v. Google LLC (Epic Games, Inc. v. Google LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Epic Games, Inc. v. Google LLC, (9th Cir. 2025).

Opinion

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

In re: Google Play Store Antitrust No. 24-6256 Litigation D.C. Nos. ______________________________ 3:21-md-02981-JD _ 3:20-cv-05671-JD EPIC GAMES, INC., a Maryland Corporation, OPINION Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

GOOGLE LLC; GOOGLE IRELAND, LTD.; GOOGLE COMMERCE, LTD.; GOOGLE ASIA PACIFIC PTE, LTD.; GOOGLE PAYMENT CORP.,

Defendants - Appellants.

EPIC GAMES, INC., Nos. 24-6274 25-303 Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. v. 3:20-cv-05671-JD 2 EPIC GAMES, INC. V. GOOGLE LLC

GOOGLE LLC; GOOGLE IRELAND, LTD.; GOOGLE COMMERCE, LTD.; GOOGLE ASIA PACIFIC PTE, LTD.; GOOGLE PAYMENT CORP.,

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California James Donato, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted February 3, 2025 San Francisco, California

Filed July 31, 2025

Before: M. Margaret McKeown, Danielle J. Forrest, and Gabriel P. Sanchez, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge McKeown

SUMMARY *

[Antitrust

The panel affirmed a jury verdict and the district court’s entry of a permanent injunction against Google in Epic

* This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. EPIC GAMES, INC. V. GOOGLE LLC 3

Games, Inc.’s antitrust lawsuit filed in response to Google’s removal of Epic’s Fortnite video game from the Google Play Store for noncompliance with its terms of service. Google removed Fortnite from the Play Store after Epic embedded secret code into the app’s software so that players making in-app purchases would bypass the required payment-processing systems by which Google then charged 30% commission. The jury found that Epic had proven the relevant product markets for Android app distribution and Android in-app billing services and a relevant geographic market of “worldwide excluding China.” The jury also found that Google violated both federal and California antitrust law by willfully acquiring or maintaining monopoly power in those markets, unreasonably restraining trade, and unlawfully tying use of the Play Store to Google Play Billing. The district court entered a three-year injunction that prohibits Google from providing certain benefits to app distributors, developers, original equipment manufacturers, or carriers in exchange for advantaging the Play Store. The panel rejected Google’s claim that a decision in Apple’s favor in a lawsuit Epic filed at the same time against Apple precludes Epic from defining the market differently in this case. The panel held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in proceeding with a jury trial on Epic’s equitable claims and Google’s damages counterclaims. The panel held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to give a single-brand aftermarket jury instruction or in its framing of a Rule of Reason instruction. 4 EPIC GAMES, INC. V. GOOGLE LLC

The panel held that the injunction was supported by the jury’s verdict as well as the district court’s own findings.

COUNSEL

Gary A. Bornstein (argued), Christine Varney, Antony L. Ryan, Wes Earnhardt, Justin C. Clarke, Lauren A. Moskowitz, M. Brent Byars, Omid Nasab, Yonatan Even, and Michael J. Zaken, Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, New York, New York; John C. Hueston, Sourabh Mishra, Hueston Hennigan LLP, Newport Beach, California; Joseph Reiter, Hueston Hennigan LLP, Los Angeles, California; Paul J. Riehle, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, San Francisco, California; Daniel Woofter and Kevin Russell, Russell & Woofter LLC, Washington, D.C.; Thomas C. Goldstein, Goldstein & Russell P.C., Washington D.C.; for Plaintiff-Appellee. Jessica L. Ellsworth (argued), Neal K. Katyal, Reedy C. Swanson, and Natalie Salmanowitz, Hogan Lovells LLP, Washington, D.C.; Johannah Cassel-Walker, Hogan Lovells LLP, San Francisco, California; Katherine B. Wellington, Hogan Lovells LLP, Boston, Massachusetts; Mackenzie D. Austin, Hogan Lovells LLP, Los Angeles, California; Brian C. Rocca, Michelle P. Chiu, Sujal J. Shah, and Leigha Beckman, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, San Francisco, California; Glenn D. Pomerantz and Kuruvilla Olasa, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, Los Angeles, California; Justin P. Raphael and Dane P. Shikman, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, San Francisco, California; Jonathan I. Kravis, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, Washington, D.C.; for Defendants-Appellants. EPIC GAMES, INC. V. GOOGLE LLC 5

David G.B. Lawrence (argued), Policy Director; Patrick M. Kuhlmann, Nickolai G. Levin, and Daniel E. Haar, Attorneys, Appellate Section; Spencer D. Smith, Counsel; John W. Elias, Deputy Assistant Attorney General; Doha Mekki, Acting Assistant Attorney General; Jonathan S. Kanter, Assistant Attorney General; Antitrust Division; United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; Mark Hegedus, Attorney; Synda Mark, Deputy Assistant Director; Kelly Signs, Assistant Director; Shaoul Sussman, Associate Director; Henry Liu, Director; Anisha S. Dasgupta, General Counsel; Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C.; for Amici Curiae the United States & the Federal Trade Commission. Amy R. Upshaw, Christopher C. Yook, and Jeffery S. Spigel, King & Spalding LLP, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae Gregory J. Werden & Luke M. Froeb. Marc R. Lewis and Rina Plotkin, Lewis & Llewellyn LLP, San Francisco, California, for Amici Curiae Information Technology & Innovation Foundation and Roblox Corporation. Steven A. Hirsch, Ben Berkowitz, and Sara R. Fitzpatrick, Complex Appellate Litigation Group LLP, San Francisco, California; Scott A. Keller, Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, Washington, D.C.; for Amici Curiae Chamber of Progress, Computer & Communications Industry Association, NetChoice, and Consumer Technology Association. Scott A. Keller and Steven P. Lehotsky, Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, Washington, D.C.; Drew F. Waldbeser, Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, Atlanta, Georgia; for Amici Curiae Antitrust Law Professors Thomas A. Lambert and John M. Yun. 6 EPIC GAMES, INC. V. GOOGLE LLC

David C. Kiernan, Jones Day, San Francisco, California; Koren W. Wong-Ervin, Jones Day, Washington, D.C.; Kelly H. Rodriguez, Jones Day, Minneapolis, Minnesota; for Amici Curiae Federal Antitrust Enforcers. Jonathan Y. Ellis, McGuireWoods LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina; Nicholas J. Giles and Joshua D. Wade, McGuireWoods LLP, Richmond, Virginia; Brian Scarpelli, ACT The App Association, Washington, D.C.; for Amicus Curiae ACT The App Association. Jonathan A. Patchen, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, San Francisco, California; Matthew Freimuth, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, New York, New York; Geoffrey A. Manne and Daniel J. Gilman, International Center for Law & Economics, Portland, Oregon; for Amici Curiae The International Center for Law & Economics and Scholars of Law and Economics. Robert T. Smith and Neal S. Mehrotra, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae Computer Security Experts John Mitchell, Serge Egelman, Nikia Borisov, Kevin Butler, Amit Elazari, Guofei Gi, and Sharad Mehrotra. Jack E. Pace III, Gina M. Chiappetta, and Daniel J. Grossbaum, White & Case LLP, New York, New York; Mark Davies, White & Case LLP, Washington, D.C.; for Amici Curiae Law and Business School Professors. Anthony P. Schoenberg, Christopher C. Wheeler, and Hilary C. Krase, Farella Braun & Martel LLP, San Francisco, California, for Amici Curiae Fyouture, Firecracker Software LLC, Visual Blasters LLC, BetterTime Co., and Speeko, Inc.. EPIC GAMES, INC. V. GOOGLE LLC 7

Matthew D. Field and Harley L. Geiger, Venable LLP, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae The Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law. Calvin House, Gutierrez Preciado & House LLP, Pasadena, California, for Amicus Curiae Civil Justice Association of California. John M. Reeves, Reeves Law LLC, St.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

CBS Broadcasting, Inc. v. Echostar Communications Corp.
450 F.3d 505 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)
United States v. National Lead Co.
332 U.S. 319 (Supreme Court, 1947)
International Salt Co. v. United States
332 U.S. 392 (Supreme Court, 1947)
Besser Manufacturing Co. v. United States
343 U.S. 444 (Supreme Court, 1952)
Steele v. Bulova Watch Co.
344 U.S. 280 (Supreme Court, 1952)
Beacon Theatres, Inc. v. Westover
359 U.S. 500 (Supreme Court, 1959)
Dairy Queen, Inc. v. Wood
369 U.S. 469 (Supreme Court, 1962)
Brown Shoe Co. v. United States
370 U.S. 294 (Supreme Court, 1962)
Silver v. New York Stock Exchange
373 U.S. 341 (Supreme Court, 1963)
United States v. Grinnell Corp.
384 U.S. 563 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc.
395 U.S. 100 (Supreme Court, 1969)
Ford Motor Co. v. United States
405 U.S. 562 (Supreme Court, 1972)
United States v. Glaxo Group Ltd.
410 U.S. 52 (Supreme Court, 1973)
California v. American Stores Co.
495 U.S. 271 (Supreme Court, 1990)
Eastman Kodak Co. v. Image Technical Services, Inc.
504 U.S. 451 (Supreme Court, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Epic Games, Inc. v. Google LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/epic-games-inc-v-google-llc-ca9-2025.