On 9 April 2021, the Federal Court of Australia stayed proceedings brought by Epic Games against Apple for various breaches of the Competition and Consumer Law Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA) on the basis of a clause in the underlying agreement between the parties requiring that all disputes be heard by courts in the Northern District of California.

The practical implication of this decision is that companies should be aware of any choice of law clauses in agreements they enter into. This applies even in respect of standard form contracts where they have ‘no choice but to agree’ to the terms, unless the company has concrete evidence that the relevant international court would decline to hear the matter.