What you need to know
- Tim Cook will take to the stand later this week or at the beginning of the next.
- Cook is said to be spending hours practicing ahead of his time in court.
Apple's Tim Cook will take the stand in the Epic Games trial later this week or early next, with the notoriously well-prepared CEO said to be undergoing hours of practice so he's ready.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Cook has former prosecutors grilling him as part of the practice rounds, all with the aim of trying to simulate what Cook will have to deal with when he takes the stand.
His testimony is likely to be the most detailed public discussion he will give on a subject that is likely to loom over Apple for years to come. Mr. Cook has been preparing for the trial, according to a person familiar with his effort. That has included hours of practice rounds from former prosecutors chosen by his legal team to simulate the witness stand.
Cook won't be the only high-profile appearance, though. Both Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi are expected to give evidence this week ahead of Cook's 100-minute-long testimony.
Apple's former marketing chief Phil Schiller, now a company fellow, and Craig Federighi, head of software, are likely witnesses this week while Mr. Cook, who is scheduled to be on the stand for a total of 100 minutes, is expected toward the end of the week or early next week, as the trial in Oakland, Calif., looks to wrap up.
Cook's appearance will be one of the rare occasions he doesn't have any control over the questions being put to him, hence the practice sessions. Epic Games still believes that Apple's App Store processes and rules are anti-competitive and that's where the trial originally came from – after Epic broke the rules on purpose so it could get Fortnite kicked out. Apple is expected to come out on top in the law court, but it's a different matter in the court of public opinion.
