Apple v. OpenAI trade-secret case judge says October 14 he is 'very likely' to grant Apple's preliminary injunction
On October 14 US District Judge Edward Davila held an oral hearing in Apple v. OpenAI over Apple's preliminary injunction motion and indicated he is 'very likely' to grant it; OpenAI committed not to use Apple's alleged trade secrets and to take forensic images of 14 employee devices.
On October 14 local time, US District Judge Edward Davila for the Northern District of California held an oral hearing on Apple's preliminary injunction motion in the trade-secret lawsuit Apple filed on July 10 against OpenAI, its hardware subsidiary, and two former Apple employees. The judge made it clear he is 'very likely' to grant Apple's injunction, which would require OpenAI to immediately stop using information Apple claims was taken by departed employees. OpenAI committed in the hearing not to use Apple's alleged trade secrets during the litigation and, under the agreement, must collect forensic images from 14 employee devices. Apple's lawsuit alleges former employees Tang Tan, now OpenAI's chief hardware officer, and Chang Liu carried product-design, manufacturing, parts, testing and supply-chain confidential information to OpenAI to accelerate its consumer hardware push. The day before, Judge Davila also partially granted Apple's expedited-discovery motion, requiring faster forensic collection and depositions from a set of former Apple employees. OpenAI's counterclaim alleges a former employee sent more than 100 confidential files on unreleased products to a personal account before joining Apple; Apple has rejected this as an effort to deflect.