Hajra Naz
Apple is taking its legal fight with OpenAI a step further. The company is now asking a court for a preliminary injunction. The goal is to stop OpenAI from building an AI device, or any other product, using Apple’s technology. Apple also says more of its former employees may be tied to the alleged theft of trade secrets.
In a new court filing, Apple is asking for expedited discovery. It wants information from two accused former employees. One is Chang Liu, a senior systems engineer. The other is Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI’s chief hardware officer. Apple is also seeking discovery from OpenAI itself, its foundation, and IO. Io is the hardware startup co-founded by Jony Ive, Apple’s former lead designer.
Apple says its investigation is turning up more names. It now believes 11 additional former employees may be witnesses or may have played some role in the case. This is on top of people already named in the original complaint, including OpenAI employee Yu-Ting Peng.
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This filing raises the stakes in Apple’s case. It suggests Apple has found new evidence. The alleged misconduct may reach further than the employees first named in the lawsuit.
Apple’s filing includes specific new claims. One former Apple employee reportedly met with Liu and Peng before Peng’s job interview at OpenAI. During that meeting, they allegedly discussed confidential Apple information tied to unreleased products. Another former employee reportedly took screenshots of confidential Apple documents. Those documents were tied to an unannounced product. The screenshots were allegedly taken shortly before that person’s interview at OpenAI.
Apple also claims something happened after it filed its lawsuit. Several former employees now working at OpenAI reportedly contacted Apple. They wanted to return company-issued devices they had kept after leaving. Apple says this points to a wider group of people who may be involved.
Apple wants the court to approve expedited discovery. It argues there’s good reason to believe more people were involved in taking its intellectual property. Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction is also still pending before the court.
OpenAI has pushed back publicly. In a blog post, the company said Apple’s injunction request relies on false claims. It also called the request unnecessary. OpenAI says it doesn’t have Apple’s trade secrets and has no interest in using them.
OpenAI’s statement said the company would rather focus on building new products and pushing technology forward.
OpenAI also pointed to earlier mistakes made by Apple during the dispute. These had already been reported elsewhere. In one case, Apple reportedly emailed the wrong person. The mix-up happened because two people had similar last names. OpenAI also claims Apple was untruthful about conversations involving its general counsel.
In addition, OpenAI says Apple hasn’t acknowledged a key point. Former employees reportedly still had access to Apple’s systems after leaving the company. OpenAI argues this “residual access” was the result of Apple’s own weak security practices.
