OpenAI must turn over internal interview records and chat logs tied to former Apple staff, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, giving Apple a partial victory in its trade secret lawsuit.
Judge Edward Davila approved Apple's push for early discovery to prevent confidential technical designs from slipping into OpenAI's upcoming consumer hardware efforts. But the court drew a sharp boundary around what OpenAI actually has to surrender, rejecting Apple's widest demands as unreasonable.
Apple took OpenAI and two former employees, Tang Yew Tan and Chang Liu, to court in July 2026. The complaint accuses Tan and Liu of taking proprietary hardware data when they left Cupertino. According to Apple, the pair held on to company equipment, exploited software bugs, forwarded internal supplier contacts, and instructed job candidates to bring unreleased Apple devices to interviews with OpenAI.
Davila's order compels OpenAI to hand over all forensic images gathered during internal reviews connected to Apple's claims. OpenAI must also produce all records regarding candidates interviewed for its Consumer Hardware Products Group. Apple also secured permission to depose Tan, Liu, and Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng, another former Apple worker who joined OpenAI, along with access to Line chat logs exchanged between Liu and Peng.
The judge agreed that early discovery was warranted so Apple could determine whether any stolen material became entangled in OpenAI's consumer hardware. Yet Apple walked away without several major targets.
Davila called Apple's broader search requests an "extremely burdensome, and perhaps untenable task." Apple had asked for sweeping access to materials containing any form of what it designated "Apple Originated Information." The court shot that down, ruling that the sheer scope created an unfair burden for the defense.
The order also denied Apple access to OpenAI's own research files concerning battery behavior, power management, and metal finishing for consumer devices.
The case now shifts to document production. OpenAI must gather and transfer the specified files before lawyers schedule depositions for the three former employees, a process likely to stretch out over the coming months.
TBFiled by The Tech Business Desk
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