A judge has ruled that Apple will receive expedited access to OpenAI’s recruiting materials as part of the trade secrets-focused lawsuit the iPhone maker filed against OpenAI in July.
Specifically, the court will allow Apple to view documents associated with OpenAI’s interviews with former Apple employees who applied for positions within its consumer hardware and robotics groups before the rumored launch of OpenAI’s first hardware device.
These materials may include interview checklists, guides, instructions, manuals, and scripts, as well as technical presentations and recordings showing that interview discussions included references to Apple technology or components.
The court gave OpenAI five days to turn over the documents it has already collected and 14 days for any other documents related to this request, agreeing with Apple that these documents should be expedited.
This case comes as OpenAI is developing a consumer hardware device that could one day potentially rival the iPhone – or smartphones in general – if the AI device becomes a central part of consumers’ lives and how they interact with software and services.
In its lawsuit, Apple accused OpenAI of a pattern of theft, which includes direct complaints about former employees using Apple laptops to download confidential materials and files containing information about unannounced technologies, features and products, including technical specifications, technical presentations and proprietary project data.
Apple also said that former Apple employees at OpenAI advised others considering leaving Apple for OpenAI on what information to bring to their interviews, among other allegations.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila did not greenlight all of Apple’s requests for expedited access to OpenAI documents and messages relevant to the case. But it ruled that Apple could access interview documents, as well as private LINE messages (from a messaging app) between people named in the case, including OpenAI employees Chang Liu and Alyssa Peng.
The judge also approved testimony from Liu and Peng, as well as a third person, OpenAI hardware director Tang Yew Tan. All three are former Apple employees.
However, the judge rejected Apple’s request to expedite its access to OpenAI’s research and development in specific areas, like metal finishes and energy management. It has also refused several broader discovery requests from Apple, such as access to research on OpenAI’s hardware or information about what its former employees created while working at OpenAI.
This refusal is, however, not definitive; the judge left the door open for Apple to narrow its claims and try again.
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