April 17 (Reuters) - Apple
(AAPL.O) has asked a judge to force video game distributor Valve to disclose business records that the iPhone maker says it needs to battle an antitrust class-action lawsuit accusing it of driving up app prices.
Apple’s federal
court filing in Seattle on Tuesday said Valve, developer of the digital distribution service Steam, has refused to provide sales and commission data that are “core” to its defense in the consumer lawsuit.
The records, according to Cupertino, California-based Apple, will show how its App Store competes with competing gaming services and other platforms.
Bellevue, Washington-based Valve and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Valve is not a defendant in the underlying antitrust case.
A lawyer for Valve said in a letter to Apple this month that its demand for information “imposes a significant and undue burden.”
A federal judge in
February said tens of millions of Apple customers could band together as a class to press claims that the company’s App Store practices have caused consumers to pay artificially higher prices.
Apple has denied the allegations and has asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to undo the lower court’s class certification order. The plaintiffs’ lawyers have estimated that class-wide damages reach billions of dollars.
Valve’s Steam is the largest games store on PCs and Macs, according to Apple’s court filing. Apple accused Valve of failing to agree to a “narrow” request for information about its commission rates and other financial data.
Apple said it was seeking information about Valve's “relationships with game developers and policies for game distribution,” and it wants to question a Valve corporate official about “competition in the PC game store environment.”
Valve earlier provided some information to Apple in a related antitrust lawsuit. It told Apple it has no obligation to "supplement" the prior disclosure.
In addition to the consumer
antitrust case, Apple was sued by the U.S. government last month for allegedly thwarting competition in the smartphone market. Apple denied the allegations.
Valve is separately fighting an antitrust case accusing it of monopolizing the distribution of games on personal computers.