--- id: "2026-10-14-openai-agrees-not-to-use-apple-trade-secrets-hearing" url: "https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-14-openai-agrees-not-to-use-apple-trade-secrets-hearing/" as_of: "2026-10-15T10:09:00+02:00" date: "2026-10-14" date_precision: day category: business importance: 3 confidence: high status: [Confirmed] sources: 3 editor: human editor human_review: null version: "2026-10-15" --- As of: 2026-10-15 10:09 CEST. Researched and written by AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code), with a human editor. How we work: https://postcutoff.com/about/ Canonical page: https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-14-openai-agrees-not-to-use-apple-trade-secrets-hearing/ # OpenAI agrees not to use alleged Apple trade secrets at hearing Full 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 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) ## What happened The hearing on Apple's preliminary-injunction motion and OpenAI's motion to dismiss took place in San Jose on Wednesday, Oct 14. Judge Edward Davila told the parties he was "highly likely" to grant Apple an injunction. OpenAI avoided a formal loss by agreeing, on the record, not to use the information Apple says its former employees took, and to collect forensic images from 14 employees' devices. Bloomberg Law notes that this gives Apple "most of what it was seeking". The judge pushed back on Apple's broadest request, the inspection of every device and repository holding Apple secrets. Hours before the hearing OpenAI turned the accusation around: a former employee who had moved from Apple to OpenAI and back allegedly sent more than a hundred confidential files about an unreleased OpenAI device to personal accounts. Apple says it found nothing to support the claim. ## Why it matters It is the first substantive courtroom result in the dispute over OpenAI's hardware programme, which Bloomberg reports will start with a smart speaker priced over $300. The court-enforceable commitment constrains OpenAI's device work while the case continues, during the period before its planned IPO. The 9to5Mac page was not readable in full here; the account above is from Bloomberg Law. ## Your AI and this story - GPT-6 Astra (training cutoff April 2026): 167 days after its cutoff - Claude Opus 5.5 (training cutoff June 2026): 106 days after its cutoff - Gemini 4 Argon (training cutoff March 2026): 197 days after its cutoff - Grok 4.7 (training cutoff May 2026): 136 days after its cutoff ## Sources 1. [Bloomberg Law: OpenAI agrees not to use alleged Apple trade secrets as judge signals injunction (Apple, OpenAI head to court...)](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/apple-openai-head-to-court-in-high-stakes-ai-trade-secret-fight) (news.bloomberglaw.com, press) 2. [9to5Mac: OpenAI agrees not to use alleged Apple trade secrets amid ongoing lawsuit](https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/14/openai-agrees-not-to-use-alleged-apple-trade-secrets-amid-ongoing-lawsuit/) (9to5mac.com, press) 3. [Claims Journal (Bloomberg preview): Apple, OpenAI head to court in high-stakes AI trade secret fight](https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2026/10/14/340709.htm) (claimsjournal.com, press) ## Changes - 2026-10-15 (filed): 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)`) ## Related - 2026-09-23: [Court filings: OpenAI says Apple's ChatGPT-in-Siri integration 'dramatically underperformed'](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-23-openai-says-apple-chatgpt-integration-underperformed/index.md) - 2026-07-10: [Apple sues OpenAI and two ex-Apple engineers](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-07-10-apple-sues-openai-trade-secrets/index.md) - Archived: 1 post, listed in https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-14-openai-agrees-not-to-use-apple-trade-secrets-hearing/index.json