As part of a new ruling in Apple's trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI, Apple has been granted access to the testimony of OpenAI employees and select related documents.
Apple alleges that its former employees, Tang Yew Tan and Chang Liu, stole the company's trade secrets and intellectual property in an attempt to benefit OpenAI. According to Apple, the two stole information by continuing to use work-issued devices and services after leaving the company.
The two allegedly also abused bugs, emailed themselves supplier information, and instructed Apple employees interviewing with OpenAI to bring unreleased Apple hardware with them. As a result, Apple filed a lawsuit against its former employees and against OpenAI in July 2026.
Though there has been a considerable amount of back-and-forth in the months since, the presiding judge has yet to reach a verdict. However, on Tuesday, Judge Edward Davila partly granted Apple's requests for relevant OpenAI information about the employees in question.
Apple's request is granted, mostly
Per the associated court ruling, OpenAI will be required to provide "all forensic images" they collected "in relation to Apple's claims. Additionally, OpenAI will need to hand over all documentation related to interviewing Apple employees for OpenAI's Consumer Hardware Products Group.
On top of that, Apple will be given access to all Line conversations between Chang Liu and Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng, another former Apple employee who later joined OpenAI. Apple will also be able to depose all three of the former employees.
Apple's request for early discovery was accepted as well. The court agreed that "Apple needs early discovery to uncover the scope of any alleged misappropriation of Apple's trade secrets," so that they do not become "entangled in OpenAI's hardware products or other research."
However, Apple did not get everything it wanted. The court found some of Apple's requests were "quite broad such that complying with the requests would prove onerous for Defendants."
In short, Apple's requests for information were so broad and all-encompassing that some of them amounted to an "extremely burdensome, and perhaps untenable task." Though the wording of Apple's requests is precise, the company arguably requested anything and everything in any way related to "Apple Originated Information."
The court also denied Apple's request for OpenAI's "research and development related to metal finishes, power management, or battery functionality for consumer hardware products."
The outcome of the case remains to be seen, and it likely won't end anytime soon. OpenAI will first have to provide the requested documentation, and it could be months before Apple deposes its former employees.
