Bloomberg reports that Google paid Apple $1 billion to retain its position as the default search bar provider on iOS, according to court documents.
This information was revealed through a court transcript from Oracle’s copyright lawsuit against Google. The deal between Apple and Google took place in 2014, at which time an agreement was also made that Apple would get a cut of the revenue Google generates on iOS devices.
According to a witness questioned during the court proceedings, “at one point in time” the revenue share between Google and Apple was 34%. One of Google’s attorneys reportedly tried to keep that information under wraps by asking to have it stricken from the court records. That request was denied by the judge presiding over the trial.
These details put to bed the rumors of exactly how much Google paid to ensure iOS device owners keep using Google’s search engine by default. In addition, it discloses that Apple continues to receive money from Google in the form of revenue sharing.
Google and Apple have since filed separate requests to seal and redact the transcript, which contains information said to be highly confidential. In Google’s filing the company reportedly stated:
“The specific financial terms of Google’s agreement with Apple are highly sensitive to both Google and Apple. Both Apple and Google have always treated this information as extremely confidential.”
Google’s argument is that having this information made public negatively impacts its ability to negotiate a similar agreement with another company.
Oracle’s lawsuit against Google stems from claims made in 2010 that the Android operating system was developed using Java without Google paying to use the software.
Google fought to put a stop to the case, making it all the way up to the US Supreme Court before having the request denied. Now the case is being tried in San Francisco and is still ongoing. Neither Google or Apple have officially comments on details emanating from the lawsuit thus far.
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