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Tim Cook is making a rare appearance to defend his company under oath (AAPL)

Tim Cook Tim Sweeney 2x1Apple/Rachel Luna/Stringer

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Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday is scheduled to take the stand, under oath, as a witness in defense of the company he runs, as Apple and the maker of "Fortnite" are currently at war in a California courtroom — the culmination of a yearlong spat between the two American business giants.

Epic Games filed suit against Apple last summer after its hit game, "Fortnite," was pulled from Apple's App Store. 

Apple says it pulled the game because Epic violated the terms of its developer agreement when Epic implemented a payment system in the game that enabled players to circumvent Apple's App Store. Epic says the App Store is a monopoly, and argues that iPhones and iPads are no different from computers.

The in-person trial began in early May at the US District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland, California. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has overseen approximately three weeks of hearings thus far.

After three weeks of testimonies and questioning by lawyers for both Apple and Epic, Cook is appearing as a witness for the defense as the trial wraps up.

It's Cook's first court appearance as a witness on behalf of Apple, though he's appeared at Congressional hearings alongsideother tech CEOs. Though he's under oath in both instances, Congressional hearings rarely result in action  — whereas the results of this trial could have a major impact on Apple's business.

There's no way of knowing what the lawyers for Apple and Epic will ask Cook, but at the heart of the fight is a philosophical disagreement on the nature of the iPhone: Epic argues it's a computer, while Apple argues it's fundamentally distinct. That argument is critical because of how the App Store operates, with Apple acting as the sole arbiter of what can and cannot be published on the iPhone.

Fortnite (Epic payment through iOS)Epic Games

If the iPhone is a computer, then the App Store is a monopoly, Epic's lawyers argue. If it isn't, and it's a distinct category of device, then Apple is protecting its users by keeping alternative digital storefronts off the iPhone.

Multiple Apple execs have already appeared as witnesses in the trial.

Apple senior VP Craig Federighi most clearly laid out the case that we're likely to hear echoed by Cook: Apple's computers are "like a car," he said, and that means users can take it off-road or wherever they'd like — for better or worse — whereas the iPhone and iPad operating system, iOS, needs to be usable by children and even babies.

The Mac operating system, Federighi said, is less secure than iOS specifically because of its open nature. If you were able to download iPhone and iPad apps outside of Apple's App Store, Federighi said, you'd be open to a variety of security issues that Apple couldn't review before use. 

This is due to the App Store's review process, he said, which offers a standard of safety across all iPhone and iPad apps. 

The trial is expected to wrap up on Monday, May 24.

Got a tip? Contact Insider senior correspondent Ben Gilbert via email (bgilbert@insider.com), or Twitter DM (@realbengilbert). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by email only, please.

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