Apple’s fight to defend its multi-billion dollar search engine deal with Google is taking a hit as the court denies the company’s request for an emergency stay. Last week, the judge overseeing the case rejected Apple’s motion, paving the way for the proceedings to move forward.
In November, Apple asked the court to allow it to participate more in the lawsuit, but the court denied its request. Now, Apple plans to appeal the ruling and file a motion to expedite its appeal. The company fears that if its appeal is not resolved until after the remedies trial, which is set for April, it will be forced to stand by while Google defends itself.
The court previously found Google guilty of violating federal antitrust law due to exclusive search distribution agreements with various companies, including Apple. Google pays Apple billions annually to be the default search engine on Safari. The U.S. government has requested that the court prevent Google from entering into similar contracts with other companies.
If Google is barred from continuing its search deal with Apple, the company would lose $20 billion each year. However, the court has deemed that granting a stay to Apple would perpetuate Google’s unlawful activity and go against the public interest.
Google faces more severe remedies, including being forced to sell Chrome or uncouple Android from products like Google Search and the Google Play Store. Apple believes that if its appeal is not resolved until after the trial, it may be forced to stand by while Google defends itself, ultimately affecting their commercial arrangement.
Source: https://www.macrumors.com/2025/02/03/apple-stay-motion-denied-google-lawsuit