Aug 1 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google on Friday asked a

U.S. appeals court to keep on hold an order that required

sweeping reforms to the technology giant's app store Play, after

losing a key ruling this week in a lawsuit brought by "Fortnite"

video game maker Epic Games.

Google in a new filing to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals said it planned to further challenge

the lower court's October injunction, which a panel of appeals

judges upheld on Thursday in a unanimous decision.

The injunction, which was paused while the 9th Circuit

considered the case, required Google to restore competition by

allowing users to download rival app stores within its Play

store and by making Play's app catalog available to those

competitors, among other reforms.

Google said the lower court's injunction is expected to take

effect in 14 days absent a court order blocking it. The filing

said an administrative stay of the order was necessary to let

the company later ask the full appeals court to take up the

appeal, and if necessary seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Google and Epic did not immediately respond to requests for

comment.

Epic in its 2020 lawsuit accused Google of monopolizing how

consumers access apps on Android devices and pay for

transactions within apps. The Cary, North Carolina-based company

convinced a San Francisco jury in 2023 that Google illegally

stifled competition.

U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco issued his

Play store injunction against Google in October after a jury

earlier ruled for Epic. Google has denied any wrongdoing.

In upholding the injunction on Thursday, a 9th Circuit panel

said the record in Epic's lawsuit was "replete with evidence

that Google's anticompetitive conduct entrenched its dominance."

The case is Epic Games v. Google, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of

Appeals, No. 24-6256.

For Epic: Gary Bornstein of Cravath, Swaine & Moore

For Google: Jessica Ellsworth of Hogan Lovells

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