Apple Seeks OpenAI Hardware Inspection in Trade Secret Case Involving 400 Former Staff
Updated
Updated · Computerworld · Sep 15
Apple Seeks OpenAI Hardware Inspection in Trade Secret Case Involving 400 Former Staff
3 articles · Updated · Computerworld · Sep 15
Summary
Apple asked a federal judge to force OpenAI to let it inspect unreleased hardware and related documents in case 5:26-cv-07078, arguing it needs to verify whether its trade secrets were used.
400 former Apple employees hired by OpenAI — including chief designers — underpin Apple’s claim that the AI company may have exfiltrated confidential know-how while building a new device.
Apple says waiting until launch would make any misuse effectively irreversible, and argues OpenAI should not be allowed to deny infringement based on a product neither Apple nor the court has seen.
A court-ordered direct inspection may be a stretch because judges could see reciprocal IP risk, making an independent third-party expert a more likely compromise.
That path would mirror trade-secret disputes such as Waymo v. Uber, with the litigation now broadening from hiring allegations to scrutiny of OpenAI’s still-unreleased hardware.