As the case inches closer to trial, OpenAI has been ordered to surrender more details to Apple about its employees' use of devices and tools, and its recruitment practices.

Apple has been pressing for early discovery in its lawsuit against OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft, arguing that delays materially hurt it. Judge Edward Davila has previously tended to side with Apple, but denied it certain information because he said the requests were too broad.

Now Apple has narrowed the scope of its requests, specifically changing it from covering all ex-Apple employees to being specifically those hired by OpenAI. On that basis, Judge Davila has granted more of the requests and so ordered OpenAI to provide Apple with details of:

  • Ex-Apple Employee Chang Liu's and Tang Tan's devices used to store confidential Apple information
  • Their accounts and messaging apps containing the same
  • Their use of AI tools for both personal and OpenAI work
  • Any confidential Apple information that may have been destroyed

OpenAI is also ordered to provide testimonies about Apple information specifically used in battery technologies and metal finishings.

The ChatGPT maker must also detail how it did or did not try to prevent the use of confidential information. And it is required to detail recruitment interviews it had with Apple employees.

Apple didn't get everything - yet

However, Judge Davila denied Apple's requests for many specific details such as OpenAI's own investigations into this issue. Apple has not been granted access to certain other details about OpenAI devices and accounts used by the ex-Apple employees either.

That may not change, but two further requests the judge denied are likely to. Judge Davila turned down Apple's requests for certain testimonies, but only because they were too broad.

Specifically, Judge Davila ruled that certain such requests were "more appropriately addressed through ordinary merits discovery, which neither Party appears to dispute should be conducted efficiently." So once the trial proper gets underway, Apple may be able to get these particular requests granted.

Few lawsuits are conducted speedily, but this one has had more visible back and forth between Apple, OpenAI, and the judge because of Apple's urging for emergency discovery. OpenAI appears to have abandoned its claims of not having used confidential information, but it has also attempted to delay certain parts of the proceedings for as long as possible.

In theory, that would have allowed OpenAI more time to use the information and to produce its expected AI hardware device. Most recently, OpenAI voluntarily promised not to use such information, however.

That may have been the company just trying to get ahead of an inevitable court order. But now it has 14 days to comply with the latest ruling.