Apple vs OpenAI: what the trade-secrets fight means for you

takeaways:

Apple has asked a federal judge to step in immediately, rather than wait for a full trial, in its legal fight with OpenAI over claims that former Apple employees carried confidential information to their new employer.

On Monday 3 August 2026, Apple filed for what's called a preliminary injunction, a court order that pauses certain actions while a lawsuit is still being decided. It's part of a case Apple brought in July against OpenAI, accusing two former staff members of taking Apple secrets with them: Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, a former vice president of product design who worked on the iPhone and Apple Watch. OpenAI's hardware division, io Products, is also named.

Apple says the pair's knowledge is now helping OpenAI build its own consumer hardware. It wants the court to stop OpenAI and the two engineers from using, accessing or sharing the disputed information while the case continues, and it's asking for faster-than-usual evidence-gathering, including depositions of Liu, Tan, another OpenAI employee named Yu-Ting Peng, an unnamed former Apple staffer, and company representatives from both OpenAI and io. Apple says it believes more ex-employees could be involved. In its filing, Apple argues it "will be irreparably harmed absent a preliminary injunction."

Before going to court, Apple reportedly offered to drop the injunction request if OpenAI agreed to five conditions. OpenAI accepted three — stopping use of the information, stopping any disclosure, and preserving evidence — but refused to allow forensic inspections of its systems.

OpenAI has pushed back hard. In a blog post, the company said Apple's request is "both based on false information and completely unnecessary because we do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets." It also published internal messages it says show Apple employees reaching out to Liu for help after he had already left the company, which OpenAI suggests undercuts Apple's version of events.

The backdrop to all this is OpenAI's push into physical devices. Following its $6.5 billion acquisition of io, the company run with design help from Jony Ive is reportedly working on a screenless desk companion device, expected sometime in 2027.

This case won't change what's on shelves today. But it's a preview of the tension building as AI companies move from software into hardware that could compete directly with products like the iPhone or Apple Watch. If Apple wins its injunction, it could slow down or reshape OpenAI's hardware plans before that first device ever ships. If OpenAI prevails, it strengthens its position to keep building without restriction.

A hearing on Apple's injunction request is scheduled for 1 October. That will be the first real test of whether a judge finds Apple's claims serious enough to intervene before the underlying lawsuit, Apple v. Liu, is fully resolved. OpenAI has already signalled it plans to keep fighting the request publicly, including by releasing internal communications to support its side.