OpenAI has told a federal court that a former employee moved more than 100 confidential files about an unreleased device to Apple, raising the stakes in the Apple trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI, which Apple filed in July. The October 14 filing says the employee joined OpenAI from Apple and later went back to Apple, according to The Register's account. Apple told Reuters it has found no evidence to support OpenAI's claims.
Apple sued OpenAI in July, accusing it of a pattern of theft. The complaint names OpenAI and two former employees and alleges they took confidential hardware engineering information to OpenAI. It also says former Apple employees downloaded confidential files onto Apple laptops before leaving, and that some former Apple staff at OpenAI coached colleagues on what to bring into job interviews, according to TechCrunch. OpenAI denied the original accusations in July, saying it has no interest in other companies' trade secrets.
Apple trade secret lawsuit: the October 13 court order.
On October 13, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ruled that Apple can get expedited access to OpenAI's hiring materials. Apple may review interview files for former Apple employees who applied for consumer hardware and robotics roles, and it can see private messages among people named in the case. The judge approved depositions for two OpenAI employees and for Tang Yew Tan, whom TechCrunch identifies as OpenAI's chief hardware officer. He also denied several broader requests, including access to research on metal finishes and power management, though Apple may narrow those requests and try again.
OpenAI's new allegations.
The October 14 filing goes further. OpenAI says the employee transferred files just after midnight Singapore time on June 2, the person's final day at the company. The files reportedly included images of at least one unreleased product, manufacturing data, supplier information and project files. OpenAI also says the employee presented its product plans to Apple's senior leadership, including its vice president of operations in Asia, months before the filing. OpenAI pointed to Apple's new AI-powered smart home products as a reason for concern, arguing that confidential information is now circulating inside Apple.
Apple's response and next steps.
Apple says it has found no evidence to support OpenAI's allegations and that it has policies to stop new hires from bringing a former employer's confidential material into the company. OpenAI has asked the court for time to investigate and, if needed, to file counterclaims against Apple. As of the reporting, none had been filed.
Why the dispute matters.
Talent moves have become one of the main battlegrounds in consumer hardware and AI. Both companies are building devices, and engineers who know unreleased hardware are valuable to rivals. Courts are now being asked how far a company can be held responsible for what a new hire brings with them, and that question will matter well beyond these two firms. The hiring-records order gives Apple a close look at how OpenAI recruited people from its own hardware team.
What is still unknown.
The filings are allegations rather than findings. OpenAI has not shown that Apple received or used the material, and its possible counterclaims remain hypothetical. Accounts of the employee's career timeline differ between outlets, so the sequence rests mainly on OpenAI's own filing. The reporting also does not say when the depositions will take place. Readers who want to check how long the filing is can use the free word counter at /en/word-counter.