According to the information from the Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, recently, the US judge James Donato made the final ruling in Epic's lawsuit against Google (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US), determining that Google's Android app store engaged in illegal monopolistic behavior and ordered Google to open the Google Play app store to competitors within three years of the ruling taking effect.

According to the ruling, Google must distribute competitors' third-party app stores within the Google Play app store and allow these third-party app stores access to the entire app catalog of Google Play, unless developers choose to opt out. This was one of the main demands raised by Epic, but not the only victory achieved by Epic today.

From November 1, 2024, to November 1, 2027, Google must: stop requiring apps in the Google Play store to use the Google payment system (the jury found that Google illegally bundled the payment system with its app store); allow Android developers to introduce other payment methods to users; allow Android developers to provide app download links outside the Play Store; allow Android developers to set app prices freely, not restricted by the Play Billing system.

At the same time, Google cannot: share app revenue with any individual or entity currently operating or planning to launch an app store; provide funds or incentives to developers to have apps exclusively or preferentially released on the Play Store; prevent developers from releasing apps on competitors' stores by providing funds or incentives; provide funds or benefits to device manufacturers or carriers to preinstall the Play Store or not preinstall competitors' app stores.

However, Google will still retain a certain level of control over the security and safety issues of the Google Play store. The ruling stipulates that Google may take reasonable measures to manage these issues but these measures must be "strictly necessary and targeted" and similar to how Google currently manages the Google Play store. Google may also charge for these management measures. Epic has repeatedly argued that Google should not hinder the normal operation of third-party app stores through management.

Judge Donato granted Google eight months to establish a system where a three-person technical committee jointly selected by Epic and Google will review any disputes.

However, Epic did not win all of its demands. It had hoped that the judge would extend the opening period of Google Play from three years to six years, and also wanted users to be able to easily sideload apps by tapping a button, and requested that Google stop bundling the Android API with Google Play.

Donato explained why not extending to six years by writing: "These regulations are intended to provide a fair competitive environment for competitors without imposing an excessive burden on Google. As competition intensifies, the unfair advantages gained by Google Play through network effects will also diminish, and Google as a competitor should not be subject to excessive restrictions."

Epic Games first filed a lawsuit against Google on August 13, 2020, and also filed a lawsuit against Apple (AAPL.US) on the same day. The well-known game publisher attempted to bypass the 30% in-app purchase fee charged by Google and Apple in its popular game "Fortnite" through a carefully planned action. The two technology giants quickly retaliated by removing "Fortnite", leading to the #FreeFortnite movement and two lawsuits against their alleged monopolistic practices.

The Apple case has ended with Apple largely winning. In January of this year, the Supreme Court rejected Epic's final appeal. The only legal victory Epic obtained was overturning Apple's 'anti-steering rule', theoretically allowing developers to inform users how to bypass Apple's payment system.

In contrast, the trial of the Google case took longer and had a very different outcome. Epic repeatedly proved unfair treatment of developers by Google and intentional concealment of facts. In December last year, a jury unanimously ruled that the Google Play app store and Google Play billing services constituted illegal monopolistic practices, and the multiple special deals reached between Google and game publishers and phone manufacturers amounted to anti-competitive behavior.

In August of this year, Judge Donato warned Google that it would pay the price for its actions. He stated at a remedial hearing: "We will tear down these barriers, this is the inevitable outcome." He refuted Google's excuses, believing that meeting Epic's demands would not consume too much time or money.

It is currently unclear whether Google must immediately comply with the court's requirements. Google has indicated that it will appeal the judgment, and similar to Apple, Google may request the appellate court to stay enforcement of Judge Donato's order, continuing to delay compliance through legal means.

Last week, Epic filed a second lawsuit against Google and Samsung, alleging that these two companies were trying to circumvent the upcoming injunction by increasing the complexity of third-party app store operations. This case is related to the current case and will also be handled by Judge Donato.

As of Monday's closing, Google fell by 2.47%, to $164.39.