Policy & Regulation
Judge orders OpenAI to hand Apple its interview records
A US federal judge has ordered OpenAI to give Apple expedited access to hiring records tied to interviews with former Apple employees, in the trade-secrets lawsuit Apple filed against OpenAI in July.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ruled that Apple can view documents related to OpenAI’s interviews with former Apple employees who applied for roles in its consumer hardware and robotics groups, ahead of OpenAI’s rumored first hardware device. The materials could include interview checklists, guides, instructions, manuals, scripts, technical presentations, and records showing whether interview discussions referenced Apple technology or components. The court gave OpenAI five days to turn over materials it has already collected, and 14 days for any additional related materials, agreeing with Apple that the request should be expedited.
The order lands as OpenAI develops a consumer hardware device that could one day potentially rival the iPhone, or smartphones more broadly, if it becomes central to how people use software and services. Apple’s suit accuses OpenAI of a pattern of theft, including complaints that former Apple employees used Apple laptops to download confidential material and files containing unannounced technologies, features, and products — technical specifications and engineering presentations among them. Apple also alleges that former Apple employees at OpenAI coached others considering the move on what information to bring to interviews.
Davila didn’t grant every one of Apple’s requests for expedited access. He did rule that Apple can access the interview materials and private LINE messages between individuals named in the case, including OpenAI employees Chang Liu and Alyssa Peng — both former Apple employees. He also approved depositions of Liu, Peng, and a third former Apple employee, OpenAI chief hardware officer Tang Yew Tan.
The judge denied Apple’s request to expedite access to OpenAI’s research and development in specific areas, such as metal finishes and power management, and rejected several of Apple’s broader discovery requests, including access to OpenAI’s hardware research or records of what its former employees created while at OpenAI. That denial isn’t final — Davila left the door open for Apple to narrow those requests and try again.
Why it matters
A judge granting expedited discovery into a rival’s hiring process — rather than just its product roadmap — signals courts may treat recruiting and interview records as fair game in trade-secrets fights over who built what first.