Google’s epic legal defeat threatens $300 billion app store industry

Google’s legal defeat at the hands of Fortnite maker Epic Games threatens to roil an app store duopoly with Apple that generates close to $US200 billion ($305 billion) a year and dictates how billions of consumers use mobile devices. The loss — handed down by a San Francisco jury on Monday — is a blow to the two companies’ business model in apps, where they charge commissions of as much as 30 per cent to software developers who typically have few other options. Google shares were down less than 1 per cent in New York on Tuesday morning at $US132.62. The battle began in 2020, when Fortnite was kicked off the Apple and Google Play…