Apple expands trade-secrets probe into OpenAI

Apple said on August 4 that its trade-secrets investigation involving OpenAI had widened, adding allegations that more former employees may have retained or accessed confidential company information. In a new court filing, Apple asked for expedited discovery and pressed for a preliminary injunction that would bar OpenAI, two former Apple employees and related parties from using or disclosing what Apple says are its trade secrets while the case proceeds. The filing names former Apple employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan and also seeks discovery from OpenAI, its foundation and io, the device startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, according to TechCrunch and a Reuters account carried by PYMNTS. OpenAI said publicly that Apple’s request was based on false information and that it did not have, and did not want, Apple’s trade secrets. (techcrunch.com) ### Which new allegations did Apple add? Apple’s August 4 filing said its continuing investigation had identified 11 other former Apple employees beyond Liu and Tan who may have been witnesses or otherwise involved in the case. TechCrunch reported that Apple alleged one former employee met with Liu and OpenAI employee Yu-Ting Peng before Peng’s interview at OpenAI and discussed Apple proprietary information related to unannounced products. (techcrunch.com) The same filing also alleged that another former Apple employee took screenshots of confidential Apple documents tied to an unannounced product before an interview at OpenAI. Apple further said that, after it filed its complaint, multiple former Apple employees now working at OpenAI contacted the company about returning Apple-issued devices they had kept when they left. (techcrunch.com) ### What is Apple asking the court to do right now? Apple asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to issue a preliminary injunction while the lawsuit moves forward. Reuters, in a report republished by PYMNTS, said Apple wants the court to prevent the defendants from accessing, using or disclosing confidential information and to allow expedited discovery, including documents and depositions. (techcrunch.com) Reuters also reported that Apple argued immediate court intervention was needed because it faced irreparable harm if any misuse of confidential information continued before the case was resolved. Apple’s underlying suit accuses OpenAI and the former employees of misappropriating trade secrets connected to hardware development. ### How has OpenAI answered the new filing? (pymnts.com) OpenAI said in a public blog post, quoted by TechCrunch, that Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction was “both based on false information and completely unnecessary because we do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets.” The company said it was focused on building its own products and technologies. (pymnts.com) TechCrunch reported that OpenAI also pointed to earlier mistakes by Apple, including an instance in which Apple contacted the wrong OpenAI employee because of confusion over similar surnames. OpenAI further alleged that Apple had mischaracterized discussions with its general counsel and had not acknowledged that residual access by former employees reflected Apple’s own security procedures. (techcrunch.com) ### Why does the email mistake matter in the court fight? OpenAI has used the email episode to challenge Apple’s account of how the dispute developed before the lawsuit. Reporting surfaced this week that Apple acknowledged an outside counsel error involving an email sent to the wrong OpenAI employee before the litigation escalated, a detail OpenAI has cited in arguing that Apple’s allegations are inaccurate. (techcrunch.com) That episode does not resolve the trade-secrets claims, but it has become part of OpenAI’s argument against emergency relief. Apple’s injunction request and discovery motion now put those competing factual narratives before the court in the Northern District of California. ### How does this land as Washington weighs a new antitrust chief? Adam Candeub, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, testified before the Senate on August 5 in a hearing that could shape the government’s approach to major technology cases, according to Fox News reporting carried by AOL. (techcrunch.com) If confirmed, Candeub would oversee landmark Justice Department cases involving Google and Apple. (pymnts.com) The Apple-OpenAI case is not a DOJ antitrust action, but it arrives as Apple is already a subject of broader competition scrutiny. The next immediate step is in federal court in Northern California, where the judge will decide whether Apple has met the standard for preliminary injunctive relief and whether expedited discovery will go forward. (pymnts.com) (aol.com)