Apple Wins Early Discovery as OpenAI Alleges Device Secrets Reached Apple

Apple's lawsuit accuses OpenAI of scheming to steal proprietary information about upcoming products, according to Bloomberg Technology. The case puts confidential product development at the centre of the companies' court fight.

The defendants include former Apple employees, OpenAI and io Products, 9to5Mac Apple reported. The allegations remain contested, and the early ruling concerns access to evidence, not a finding that trade secrets were stolen.

On October 13, Judge Edward Davila granted some of Apple's requests for expedited discovery, according to 9to5Mac Apple. That gives Apple early access to selected documents and employee testimony.

The material includes OpenAI interview records involving former Apple employees, private messages and testimony from key figures, TechCrunch reported. Apple did not get everything it requested, according to AppleInsider.

On October 14, the focus shifted to two opposing motions before a federal judge in San Jose. Apple is asking the court to stop OpenAI using anything taken from it, while OpenAI is asking for the case to be thrown out, The Next Web reported.

OpenAI also made allegations of its own in a new filing. It claims a former employee who left for Apple sent more than 100 highly confidential files about at least one unreleased OpenAI device to personal accounts, according to 9to5Mac Apple. The files included detailed images of an unreleased device, The Wall Street Journal Tech reported.

OpenAI further alleges that the employee later made a presentation about the unreleased product to senior Apple leadership, according to the Guardian. That claim adds a separate dispute over whether OpenAI's confidential product information reached Apple.

Apple has secured partial access to evidence, but the lawsuit's next stage depends on the competing motions. The coverage describes the companies heading into the October 14 hearing, not a decision on either Apple's requested restriction or OpenAI's dismissal request, according to The Next Web.

The dispute also comes as OpenAI prepares to unveil an AI device designed by Sir Jony Ive, the Financial Times reported. Both companies' allegations concern information about products under development. The discovery ruling does not establish that either company's theft claims are true.

The immediate decisions are whether the court will restrict OpenAI's use of information Apple says was taken from it, and whether Apple's lawsuit can proceed. Those are the two motions described by The Next Web.

The documents and testimony Apple has been allowed to obtain could provide evidence relevant to its allegations. Separately, OpenAI's filing raises unresolved questions about what its former employee took and what was presented to Apple executives, according to TechCrunch and Business Insider.