Oakland-based U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers convened the hearings at the request of Epic Games, which claims Apple defied her order to give app developers more freedom to steer users to payment options outside of the App Store.
Rogers issued her injunction in Epic's antitrust lawsuit accusing the Cupertino, California-based company of stifling competition for app downloads and overcharging commissions for in-app purchases.
Epic, maker of the blockbuster video game "Fortnite," has asked Rogers to hold Apple in civil contempt, which could include requiring the iPhone maker to end some App Store practices or make additional changes. Apple denied violating Rogers’ order.
In April, the judge said Epic had preliminarily shown that Apple's App Store policies "undermine the spirit of the injunction by limiting competition, impeding the free flow of information, and constraining user choice."
Epic declined to comment on Friday. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At the hearings, which continue Friday, Rogers has bluntly pressed Apple leaders to provide clearer answers, and she suggested during one executive's testimony that the company had made changes to its App Store with no basis “other than to stifle competition.”
Prominent Apple officials who are still to appear include Philip Schiller, who oversees the App Store.
Schiller is due to testify about Apple’s decision to impose a new 27% fee on some app transactions following Rogers' injunction. Epic has claimed that the new fee and associated rules run afoul of Rogers' order. Apple has countered that Epic wants to make Apple's "tools and technologies available to developers for free."
Each side has brought high-powered legal teams to make its case and question witnesses, with Epic turning to lawyers at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Apple represented by Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
Rogers joined the federal bench in 2011 from a state court in California. Earlier she was a litigation partner at the law firm now called Cooley.
The judge said at the start of the proceeding that she will issue a written decision but has not set a date.
The case is Epic Games Inc v Apple Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-05640.
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