{"schema":"postcutoff/event@1","as_of":"2026-10-15T10:09:00+02:00","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-14-openai-agrees-not-to-use-apple-trade-secrets-hearing/","md":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-14-openai-agrees-not-to-use-apple-trade-secrets-hearing/index.md","disclosure":{"written_by":"AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code)","editor":"human editor","policy":"https://postcutoff.com/about/"},"license":null,"id":"2026-10-14-openai-agrees-not-to-use-apple-trade-secrets-hearing","date":"2026-10-14","date_precision":"day","short_title":"OpenAI agrees not to use alleged Apple trade secrets at hearing","deck":null,"takeaway":"At the Oct 14, 2026 hearing in Apple's trade-secrets suit (N.D.","category":"business","category_label":"Business","importance":3,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":[{"n":1,"title":"Bloomberg Law: OpenAI agrees not to use alleged Apple trade secrets as judge signals injunction (Apple, OpenAI head to court...)","url":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/apple-openai-head-to-court-in-high-stakes-ai-trade-secret-fight","type":"press","group":"press","domain":"news.bloomberglaw.com"},{"n":2,"title":"9to5Mac: OpenAI agrees not to use alleged Apple trade secrets amid ongoing lawsuit","url":"https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/14/openai-agrees-not-to-use-alleged-apple-trade-secrets-amid-ongoing-lawsuit/","type":"press","group":"press","domain":"9to5mac.com"},{"n":3,"title":"Claims Journal (Bloomberg preview): Apple, OpenAI head to court in high-stakes AI trade secret fight","url":"https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2026/10/14/340709.htm","type":"press","group":"press","domain":"claimsjournal.com"}],"official":0,"filed":"2026-10-15","updated":"2026-10-15","orgs":["Apple","OpenAI"],"title":"Apple v. OpenAI hearing: judge says he is 'highly likely' to grant Apple an injunction; OpenAI agrees not to use the alleged trade secrets","summary":"At the Oct 14, 2026 hearing in Apple's trade-secrets suit (N.D. Cal., San Jose), Judge Edward Davila said he was \"highly likely\" to side with Apple and issue a preliminary injunction. OpenAI then voluntarily agreed, enforceably by the court, not to use the trade secrets Apple says former employees took, and to collect forensic images of 14 employees' devices. The judge called Apple's request to inspect all devices a \"huge ask\". Hours earlier OpenAI had accused an ex-employee who returned to Apple of taking files about an unreleased OpenAI device.","key_facts":["Judge's signal (Bloomberg Law): US District Judge Edward Davila said he was 'highly likely' to side with Apple and issue an injunction against OpenAI","OpenAI's concession: a voluntary agreement not to use the trade secrets Apple claims were stolen while the case proceeds; Davila 'will have the power to enforce the agreement', which 'also requires OpenAI to collect forensic images of 14 employees' devices that may contain Apple's confidential information'","Limits: Davila said a forensic inspection of all devices and repositories containing Apple trade secrets sounded like a 'huge ask'. Apple's lawyer John M. Desmarais: 'They don't have 400 bad apples, your Honor, they have a few bad apples and know who they are'","Counter-claim filed hours before (Bloomberg Law): OpenAI says a former employee who went back to Apple sent 'over a hundred highly confidential files' about at least one unreleased OpenAI device to personal accounts and presented OpenAI product plans to senior Apple executives; OpenAI asked for time to investigate and possibly file counterclaims. Apple says it found no evidence for this","OpenAI's position (October filing): 'OpenAI is developing a new family of devices designed for the AI era ... OpenAI has no need or desire for Apple's trade secrets'","Also on the agenda: OpenAI's motion to dismiss; no ruling on it was reported. The day before, Davila had partly granted Apple's expedited-discovery requests","Case: Apple v. Liu, 5:26-cv-07078, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose)"],"key_numbers":[],"tags":["apple","openai","trade-secrets","lawsuit","hardware","io","injunction","court"],"science":null,"body_md":"## What happened\n\nThe hearing on Apple's preliminary-injunction motion and OpenAI's motion to dismiss took place in San Jose on Wednesday, Oct 14.\nJudge Edward Davila told the parties he was \"highly likely\" to grant Apple an injunction. OpenAI avoided a formal loss by\nagreeing, on the record, not to use the information Apple says its former employees took, and to collect forensic images\nfrom 14 employees' devices. Bloomberg Law notes that this gives Apple \"most of what it was seeking\". The judge pushed back on\nApple's broadest request, the inspection of every device and repository holding Apple secrets.\n\nHours before the hearing OpenAI turned the accusation around: a former employee who had moved from Apple to OpenAI and back\nallegedly sent more than a hundred confidential files about an unreleased OpenAI device to personal accounts. Apple says it\nfound nothing to support the claim.\n\n## Why it matters\n\nIt is the first substantive courtroom result in the dispute over OpenAI's hardware programme, which Bloomberg reports will\nstart with a smart speaker priced over $300. The court-enforceable commitment constrains OpenAI's device work while the case\ncontinues, during the period before its planned IPO.\n\nThe 9to5Mac page was not readable in full here; the account above is from Bloomberg Law.","disputed":[],"related":[{"id":"2026-09-23-openai-says-apple-chatgpt-integration-underperformed","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-23-openai-says-apple-chatgpt-integration-underperformed/","date":"2026-09-23","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Court filings: OpenAI says Apple's ChatGPT-in-Siri integration 'dramatically underperformed'","deck":null,"takeaway":"Distribution through the iPhone was expected to be a major advantage for OpenAI in 2024.","category":"business","category_label":"Business","importance":2,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":4,"official":0,"filed":"2026-09-30","updated":"2026-09-30","orgs":["OpenAI","Apple","SpaceXAI"]},{"id":"2026-07-10-apple-sues-openai-trade-secrets","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-07-10-apple-sues-openai-trade-secrets/","date":"2026-07-10","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Apple sues OpenAI and two ex-Apple engineers","deck":"Including hardware chief Tang Tan, for trade-secret theft over AI devices","takeaway":"It is the most direct legal clash between Apple and an AI lab, and it could slow OpenAI's first consumer devices (a pocket-sized Ive device was expected in early 2027).","category":"business","category_label":"Business","importance":4,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":12,"official":0,"filed":"2026-10-06","updated":"2026-10-15","orgs":["Apple","OpenAI"]}],"people":[],"posts":[{"id":"2026-10-14-deitaone-openai-brief-apple-leaked-files","title":"Walter Bloomberg: OpenAI brief says files leaked to Apple include unreleased device images and engineering data","url":"https://postcutoff.com/p/2026-10-14-deitaone-openai-brief-apple-leaked-files/"}],"videos":[],"models":[],"changes":[{"date":"2026-10-15","type":"filed","text":"Created (resolves upcoming item `[Apple v. OpenAI: hearing on Apple's preliminary-injunction motion in the trade-secrets case](https://postcutoff.com/upcoming/receipts/#2026-10-14-apple-v-openai-preliminary-injunction-hearing)`)"}],"provenance":{"agents":[{"model":"Claude Opus 5.5","maker":"Anthropic","tool":"Claude Code"}],"filed":"2026-10-15","run":null,"sources_read":null,"updated":"2026-10-15","human_review":null,"version":{"date":"2026-10-15"}},"gaps":[{"model_id":"gpt-6-astra","name":"GPT-6 Astra","cutoff":"2026-04","days_after":167,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"claude-opus-5-5","name":"Claude Opus 5.5","cutoff":"2026-06","days_after":106,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"gemini-4-argon","name":"Gemini 4 Argon","cutoff":"2026-03","days_after":197,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"grok-4-7","name":"Grok 4.7","cutoff":"2026-05","days_after":136,"in_training_data":false}],"short_url":null}