Judge Orders OpenAI to Hand Over Hiring Records in Apple Trade-Secrets Suit
A federal judge granted Apple fast-track access to OpenAI's interview records and approved depositions of three former Apple employees — but said no to the company's broader requests.
Apple is getting an early look inside OpenAI's hiring files. A federal judge on Tuesday ordered OpenAI to hand over records from its job interviews with former Apple employees — the first big discovery ruling in Apple's trade-secrets lawsuit against the ChatGPT maker.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, in San Jose, gave Apple expedited access to materials from OpenAI's interviews with former Apple workers who applied for jobs in its consumer hardware and robotics groups. The order covers interview checklists, scripts, guides and technical presentations — plus records showing whether Apple technology or components came up during those interviews.
OpenAI has five days to turn over the materials it has already collected. Anything else covered by the order is due within 14 days. The court agreed to the fast timetable over concerns that forensic evidence could be lost or destroyed.
Davila also let Apple see private messages on the LINE app between Chang Liu and Alyssa Peng, two OpenAI employees who previously worked at Apple, dating back to Jan. 1, 2026. And he approved depositions of Liu, Peng and OpenAI's chief hardware officer, Tang Yew Tan.
The judge drew the line at Apple's wider requests. He refused to fast-track discovery into OpenAI's research and development work — including metal finishes and power management — and said no to information about what the former Apple employees have built since joining OpenAI. He also declined a fourth deposition. Apple can narrow those requests and try again.
Apple sued OpenAI in July, along with io Products, Liu and Tan. The company alleges a pattern of trade-secret theft: that former employees used Apple laptops to download confidential files about unannounced technologies, features and products, and that Apple veterans now at OpenAI coached job candidates on what information to bring to their interviews. OpenAI has denied the claims.
The ruling decides nothing about whether Apple is right. It only sets the pace of evidence-gathering. But in trade-secret cases, early discovery often shapes everything that follows — and OpenAI is building consumer hardware that could one day compete with the iPhone, which is why Apple wants to know what was said in those interviews.
