Apple wins expedited access to OpenAI hiring records in trade secrets case

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Apple wins OpenAI hiring case

Highlights

Apple wins expedited access to OpenAI's hiring records and related documents, with a five-day deadline for existing materials and 14 days for further records.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila authorizes Apple to obtain private LINE messages and depose former Apple workers at OpenAI, including Chang Liu, Alyssa Peng, and Tang Yew Tan.
The court denies Apple's requests for accelerated discovery into OpenAI's R&D on metal finishes and power management, limiting the scope of permitted disclosures.

Court order sets disclosure deadlines

As first reported by TechCrunch, the ruling gives Apple expedited access to OpenAI documents connected to interviews with former Apple employees who applied for roles in its consumer hardware and robotics groups.

The court gives OpenAI five days to hand over materials it has already collected and 14 days for other records covered by the request. The documents can include interview checklists, guides, instructions, manuals, scripts, technical presentations and records indicating whether interview discussions referenced Apple technology or components.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila also allows Apple to obtain private LINE messages between people named in the case, including OpenAI employees Chang Liu and Alyssa Peng. He also approves depositions for Liu, Peng and OpenAI chief hardware officer Tang Yew Tan, all former Apple employees.

Scope of claims and limits on discovery

Apple alleges in its lawsuit, filed in July, that OpenAI benefited from a pattern of trade secret theft involving former employees. The company says some workers used Apple laptops to download confidential files containing information on unannounced technologies, features and products, including technical specifications, engineering presentations and proprietary project data.

Apple also alleges that former Apple employees at OpenAI coached others considering a move from Apple on what information to bring into interviews. The judge, however, does not grant all of Apple's requests for accelerated discovery.

He denies Apple's effort to speed access to OpenAI's research and development in areas such as metal finishes and power management. The court also rejects broader requests for access to OpenAI's hardware research and information on what former Apple employees created while at the company, although the ruling leaves room for Apple to narrow those requests and seek approval again.

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