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Oakland (AP) - In California, legal proceedings have begun that could change the app business on the iPhone.
Apple and the "Fortnite" developer Epic Games meet in court.
Epic wants to run its own app store on the iPhone and Apple will not pay any levy for income from the sale of digital items.
Apple, on the other hand, wants applications to continue to be able to only be downloaded via the Group's app store - this is necessary, among other things, to protect users from fraud and software errors.
Epic accused Apple of unfair competition in its lawsuit - on the grounds that Apple had a monopoly on app sales on the iPhone.
Apple counters that the iPhone cannot be viewed as an independent market, but that the games business must be viewed on different platforms.
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Whose reasoning judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers follows on this question, could be a decisive factor for the outcome of the proceedings.
At the same time, it can be assumed that the losing party will appeal.
Another question on the way to the decision in the process is whether the App Store should be considered as part of iPhone usage, as Apple argues.
The iPhone group points out, among other things, that a centralized app store gives you the opportunity to check all applications.
Epic countered that the app platform had to be seen as a separate product.
After all, Apple has always allowed software to be downloaded from sources other than its own app store on its Mac computers.
The trial, which is scheduled to take around three weeks, started with the opening speech of Epic attorney Katherine Forrest.
She reiterated the allegation that Apple had built a closed system around the iPhone to prevent users from switching to Android phones.
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The dispute flared up in August after Epic no longer wanted to adhere to the requirement that had been in force for more than a decade that virtual items in its popular game "Fortnite" on iPhones could only be offered via Apple's in-app purchases system .
Apple keeps 30 percent of the purchase price.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210503-99-453120 / 2
Apple's arguments
Arguments from Epic Games