Apple today unveiled its list of witnesses for the next trial on the bench with Epic Games, and several Apple executives will testify, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple colleague Phil Schiller and senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi.
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The chef will be examined directly for one hour, with a one-hour cross-examination also included. Federighi will testify for two hours with a one-hour query, while Schiller, who runs the App Store, will testify for a total of 10 hours. All Apple witnesses will appear in person.
In a statement to MacRumors, Apple said its executives are eager to share the impact the “App Store” has had on innovation and economies around the world.
Our executives look forward to sharing with the court the very positive impact that the App Store has had on innovation, savings around the world and the customer experience over the past 12 years. We are confident that the case will prove that Epic intentionally violated its agreement only to increase its revenue, which led to their removal from the “App Store”. In doing so, Epic circumvented the security features of the “App Store” in a way that would reduce competition and put consumer privacy and data security at huge risk.
Apple’s list of witnesses also includes App Store Vice President Matt Fischer, Chief Engineering and Risk Algorithms Eric Friedman, Commerce and Payments Director Eric Gray, Game Development Manager Mark Grimm, and other marketing, developer, and related employees. .
Epic witnesses include pEpic Games CEO Tim Sweeney and other Epic employees, and third-party witnesses will include executives from Facebook, Microsoft, Nvidia, plus iTunes chief Eddy Cue and former iOS software chief Scott Forstall. Epic said in February that it was trying to contact Forstall, but was having difficulty locating him. Epic intends to turn to Forstall because of its involvement in launching the “App Store” before its 2013 departure from the company. In a statement, Epic said it was not alone in its fight with Apple.
The chorus of developers speaking out against Apple and their anti-competitive practices has become stronger. We are not alone in this fight. We look forward to supporting our competition in application distribution and payment processes.
The trial will begin on Monday, May 3rd. It is a banking process, which means that there will be no jury involved. Earlier this month, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez pleaded for a trial in person, saying the case was “significant enough” for the court to hear him in person.