Google has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to overturn a 2023 jury verdict that declared its Play Store an illegal monopoly. The case, initiated by Epic Games in 2020, accused Google of monopolizing the Android app distribution market and imposing anti-competitive practices. The jury's decision led to a federal judge ordering Google to implement significant changes, including allowing third-party app stores and reducing its commission rates on in-app purchases. Google argues that the market definition used in the trial was flawed and that its competition with Apple's App Store should have been considered. However, the appeals court panel appeared skeptical of Google's arguments, with judges highlighting differences between the Android and Apple ecosystems. The ruling on this appeal could have significant implications for the tech giant's business model. Separately, Apple’s emergency motion to pause the remedies phase of a separate antitrust case against Google, set for April, was denied by Judge Amit Mehta. Apple had sought to intervene, citing potential impacts on its $20 billion annual search deal with Google, but the court ruled that Apple failed to demonstrate sufficient harm or legal grounds for its involvement.