U.S. judge urges Apple, Epic Games to put antitrust claims before jury

A federal judge in California on Monday urged Apple Inc and "Fortnite" creator Epic Games to take their antitrust dispute before a jury, saying the higher courts would be less likely to overturn the result.

"I know I'm just a stepping stone for all of you," District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said during a virtual hearing from Oakland, California.

Epic Games sued Apple in August, alleging the iPhone maker's 30% commission on purchases made through Apple's App Store was anticompetitive. The judge's comments came during a hearing to decide whether to keep in place an emergency order saying Apple could remove "Fornite" from the App Store but could not harm Epic's developer tool business.