Google
just
netted
a
small
but
key
victory
in
its
Epic
legal
battle.
Last
week,
the
company
asked
Judge
James
Donato
to
press
pause
on
his
November
1st
deadline
to
drastically
alter
its
Android
app
store
rules.
Today
he
did
just
that,
Epic
and
Google
confirm
to
The
Verge,
granting
Google
a
temporary
administrative
stay.
That
means
Google
may
not
have
to
change
its
Play
Store
practices
for
years,
if
at
all,
while
it
appeals
the
verdict.
In
December,
a
jury
unanimously
decided
that
Google’s
Android
app
store,
the
Play
Store,
had
become
an
illegal
monopoly,
though
Google
is
now
appealing
that
jury
verdict
as
well
as
the
court’s
order.
Technically,
today’s
temporary
administrative
stay
only
pushes
back
the
clock
a
bit,
long
enough
for
the
appeals
court
to
weigh
in
on
a
longer
stay,
but
Judge
Donato
reportedly
told
the
courtroom
he
suspects
the
Ninth
Circuit
will
grant
that
longer
stay,
too
—
which
could
genuinely
let
Google
off
the
hook
till
it
gets
through
appeal.
The
judge
declined
to
give
Google
a
longer
stay
himself.
Had
Judge
Donato
left
the
original
deadline
in
place,
his
order
would
have
potentially
let
developers
stop
using
Google’s
Play
Billing
as
soon
as
November
1st.
Google
also
would’ve
been
barred
from
using
certain
financial
incentives
to
keep
developers
loyal
to
the
store.
Plus,
it
would
have
kicked
off
an
eight-month
countdown
to
Google
carrying
third-party
app
marketplaces
inside
its
own
Play
Store.
You
can
read
about
the
full
list
of
changes
that
Judge
Donato
ordered
in
his
permanent
injunction
embedded
here.
Originally,
Judge
Donato
gave
Google
less
than
a
month
to
begin
cracking
open
its
app
store,
and
Google
argued
it
should
get
the
same
90
days
that
Apple
got
to
make
app
store
changes.
(Google
also
argued
that
Epic,
which
filed
both
the
Apple
and
Google
lawsuits,
didn’t
object
to
a
90-day
timeline.)
With
Donato’s
original
deadline
lifted,
Google
is
at
least
briefly
off
the
hook
—
and
has
potentially
started
down
the
same
path
Apple
took
that
let
it
delay
removing
its
anti-steering
App
Store
rules
for
over
two
years.
If
not
for
the
stay,
Judge
Donato’s
ruling
could
have
had
almost
immediate
effects
for
consumers,
not
just
developers.
Microsoft
said
it
would
start
letting
people
buy
and
play
games
in
the
Xbox
Android
App,
for
instance,
and
Epic
said
it’s
bringing
the
Epic
Games
Store
to
Google
Play
next
year.
Unless
the
Ninth
Circuit
denies
a
stay,
it
could
be
years
before
those
things
happen.
Google
tells
The
Verge
it’s
pleased
with
today’s
decision:
We’re
pleased
with
the
District
Court’s
decision
to
temporarily
pause
the
implementation
of dangerous
remedies demanded
by
Epic,
as
the
Court
of
Appeal
considers
our
request
to
further
pause
the
remedies
while
we
appeal.
These
remedies
threaten
Google
Play’s
ability
to
provide
a
safe
and
secure
experience
and
we
look
forward
to
continuing
to make
our
case to
protect
100
million
U.S.
Android
users,
over
500,000
U.S.
developers
and
thousands
of
partners
who
have
benefited
from
our
platforms.
Epic
declined
to
comment.
(Originally posted by Wes Davis)
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