Epic judge lets Google keep its Android app store closed to competitors — for now

Google just netted a small but key victory in its Epic legal battle. Last week, the company asked Judge James Donato to press pause on his November 1st deadline to drastically alter its Android app store rules. Today, he did just that, Epic and Google confirm to The Verge, granting Google a temporary administrative stay on all but one specific piece of his ruling.That means Google may not have to open up its Play Store for years, if at all, while it appeals the verdict. In December, a jury unanimously decided that Google’s Android app store, the Play Store, had become an illegal monopoly, though Google is now appealing that jury verdict as well as the court’s order. Technically, today’s temporary administrative stay only pushes back the clock a bit, long enough for the appeals court to weigh in on a longer stay, but Judge Donato reportedly told the courtroom he suspects the Ninth Circuit will grant that longer stay, too — which could genuinely let Google off the hook till…