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Apple Sidelined Again in Google Search Engine Court Battle

Apple is fighting to defend its multi-billion dollar search engine deal with Google as Google is prosecuted for antitrust violations, and so far, the court isn’t making it easy. Last week, Apple filed a motion for an emergency stay that would give the Cupertino company time to intervene in the lawsuit, but the judge overseeing the case denied Apples motion [PDF] and won’t hold off on moving forward.

In November, Apple asked the court to allow it to be more involved in the case as the court decides what steps to take to prevent Google from continuing to violate antitrust law. The court said no, so Apple appealed the ruling, but it will take time for the appeals process to play out. While it waits on an appeal, Apple wanted the court to pause the proceedings, but the judge isn’t inclined to do so.

According to the court, Apple did not demonstrate that it will suffer certain and great” harm that would justify a stay, nor has it adequately explained why it needs a bigger role in the lawsuit or what new evidence it has to present. The court also does not feel that Apple has proven that a mistake was made when its initial motion for intervention was denied. Further, the judge feels that moving forward is important to prevent Google from continuing with its antitrust violations.

As the court stated in its order denying intervention, this case has been pending for over four years, and the delay from postponing the evidentiary hearing would be months, not weeks.

What’s more, the court has concluded that Google violated federal antitrust law by entering into exclusive search distribution agreements with various companies (including Apple) to achieve and maintain a monopoly in both the general search services market and the general text advertising market.

Preserving the status quo by granting a stay, as Apple urges, would only perpetuate this unlawful activity and is therefore contrary to the public interest.

Last year, Google was found guilty of violating antitrust law, and its search engine deal with Apple was a main focus of the case. Google pays Apple billions each year to be the default search engine for Safari, and the court decided that deal and other Google practices violate antitrust law.

The U.S. government has asked the court to prevent Google from entering into search contracts with Apple and other companies, and Apple does not want that to happen. Apple will be losing upward of $20 billion annually if Google is barred from continuing on with the search engine deal, and Apple would still have to offer Google Search as an option to users.

Google is also facing more extreme remedies, and it could be forced to sell the Chrome browser or uncouple Android from products like Google Search and the Google Play Store. Apple feels that Google will prioritize defending Chrome and its other properties over its search deal with Apple, which is why Apple wants to step in.

“If Apple’s appeal is not resolved until during or after the remedies trial, Apple may well be forced to stand mute at trial, as a mere spectator, while the government pursues an extreme remedy that targets Apple by name and would prohibit any commercial arrangement between Apple and Google for a decade,” Apple wrote in the filing asking for a stay.

Apple now plans to file a motion to expedite its appeal of the initial ruling barring it from further participating in the Google lawsuit. The remedies portion of the antitrust lawsuit against Google is set to begin in April, so the appeals process may have time to play out before then if Apple can get the case expedited.

US District Court Judge Amit Mehta denied Apple’s emergency request to halt the Google Search monopoly trial that could dismantle their lucrative search that’s reportedly worth as much as $18 billion a year. The order came in late Sunday, with Judge Mehta saying Apple hasn’t demonstrated satisfactory reasons for its emergency motion to stay that was filed on January 30th.

Apple said last week that it needs to be involved in the Google trial because it does not want to lose the ability to defend its right to reach other arrangements with Google that could benefit millions of users and Apple’s entitlement to compensation for distributing Google search to its users.”

The remedies phase of the trial is set for April, and lawyers for the Department of Justice have argued that Google should be forced to sell Chrome, with a possibility of spinning off Android if necessary. While Google will still appeal the decision, the company’s proposed remedies focus on undoing its licensing deals that bundle apps and services together.

“Because Apple has not satisfied the ‘stringent requirements’ for obtaining the ‘extraordinary relief’ of a stay pending appeal, its motion is denied,” states Judge Mehta’s order. Mehta explains that Apple “has not established a likelihood of success on the merits” for the stay. That includes a lack of clear evidence on how Apple will suffer “certain and great” harm.

Google was found liable for holding an illegal monopoly on general search, and the remedies phase of the trial is set for April, where Google businesses like Android, Chrome, and Search could be broken up.