OpenAI must produce testimony

OpenAI must hand over testimony from the company’s recent trial win over Elon Musk and xAI for use in separate copyright cases, according to a Bloomberg Law report published Saturday. The order came from U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang in the Southern District of New York, where multiple copyright suits against OpenAI have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings. Bloomberg Law said the ruling requires testimony from the Musk case to be produced in discovery for those copyright plaintiffs. The decision links two of OpenAI’s biggest legal fronts. On May 18, a federal jury in Oakland, California, ruled against Musk in his lawsuit accusing OpenAI of straying from its founding mission, finding he brought the case too late. Reuters reported that the three-week trial ended with a unanimous verdict for OpenAI, Sam Altman and other defendants. (news.bloomberglaw.com) ### Which testimony does OpenAI now have to turn over? Bloomberg Law reported on May 23 that the material comes from OpenAI’s trial victory over Musk and xAI and must be produced in the separate copyright litigation. The report said Judge Wang treated the trial testimony as discoverable in the New York cases. The New York proceeding is the multidistrict case captioned *In Re: OpenAI, Inc. (usnews.com) Copyright Infringement Litigation*, docket 1:25-md-03143. CourtListener shows the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred related actions to the Southern District of New York on April 3, 2025, and assigned them to U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein, with Judge Wang handling referred matters. (news.bloomberglaw.com) ### Why does a California trial matter in New York copyright cases? The May 18 verdict in Oakland produced sworn testimony from OpenAI witnesses in a live federal trial. Reuters reported that Musk had accused OpenAI, Altman and Greg Brockman of manipulating him into backing the company and then moving toward a for-profit structure tied to Microsoft funding. (courtlistener.com) Bloomberg Law reported that copyright plaintiffs want that testimony for their own cases against OpenAI. The report said Judge Wang ordered production, making the Musk trial record part of discovery in the copyright fight. ### Who is overseeing the copyright litigation? Judge Sidney H. Stein is the district judge assigned to the consolidated copyright proceeding, according to the CourtListener docket. (usnews.com) Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang is the judicial officer handling referred discovery matters in that case. The copyright litigation has already generated major discovery disputes. (news.bloomberglaw.com) Court records and later legal summaries show Judge Wang has overseen fights over preservation of output logs and privilege claims tied to OpenAI datasets, underscoring how active discovery has become in the case. ### What happened in the Musk case that produced this material? (courtlistener.com) A U.S. jury in Oakland returned its verdict on May 18 after less than two hours of deliberation, Reuters reported. The jury found Musk’s claims were barred because he sued too late, and U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said in court there was substantial evidence supporting that finding. (cases.justia.com) Reuters said Musk had alleged that OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission after he helped found it in 2015 and later accepted tens of billions of dollars from Microsoft and other investors. Musk said he would appeal after the verdict. ### What comes next in the New York case? The next step is continued discovery in *In Re: OpenAI, Inc. Copyright Infringement Litigation* in Manhattan federal court. (usnews.com) CourtListener lists the case as active as of May 19, 2026, under Judge Stein and Judge Wang, and Bloomberg Law reported that OpenAI is now required to produce the Musk-trial testimony there. (courtlistener.com)