Judge Orders OpenAI to Hand Over Hiring Records in Apple Case

By Grace Kim

A U.S. judge has given OpenAI five days to hand over hiring records it has already collected — and 14 days for everything else — in Apple's trade secrets lawsuit against the ChatGPT maker.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ruled that Apple gets expedited access to documents tied to OpenAI's interviews with former Apple employees who applied for jobs inside its consumer hardware and robotics groups. The ruling lands ahead of the rumored launch of OpenAI's first hardware device, a product Apple sees as a potential rival to the iPhone.

The takeaway: Apple got the interview files fast, but not everything it asked for.

What documents does Apple get?

The court approved access to materials tied specifically to those interviews. According to the ruling, that could include:

• Interview checklists, guides, instructions, manuals and scripts
• Technical presentations
• Records showing interview discussions referenced Apple technology or components

Davila agreed with Apple that these documents merited expedited treatment. He also granted access to private LINE messages — from the messaging app — between individuals named in the case, including OpenAI employees Chang Liu and Alyssa Peng.

Who gets deposed?

The judge approved depositions for three people, all former Apple employees now at OpenAI:

• Chang Liu
• Alyssa Peng
• Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer

That's a tight circle, and it puts OpenAI's top hardware executive in the deposition chair.

What did Apple actually allege?

Apple filed the suit in July. In its complaint, Apple accused OpenAI of a pattern of theft. The claims include direct complaints that former employees used Apple laptops to download confidential material — files containing information about unannounced technologies, features and products, including technical specifications, engineering presentations and proprietary project data.

Apple also said former Apple employees at OpenAI coached others considering leaving Apple on what information to bring to their interviews. That allegation is what makes the interview records central: if coaching happened, the checklists and scripts could show it.

What did the judge deny?

Davila didn't greenlight every request. He denied Apple's bid for expedited access to OpenAI's research and development in specific areas, such as metal finishes and power management.

He also rejected several broader discovery asks, including access to OpenAI's hardware research and information about what the former Apple employees created while working at OpenAI.

But the denial isn't final. The judge left the door open for Apple to narrow its requests and try again.

Why the stakes go beyond this case

The lawsuit runs parallel to OpenAI's push into consumer hardware — a device that could one day rival the iPhone, or smartphones generally, if AI hardware becomes central to how consumers engage with software and services.

Apple's case, in effect, argues that OpenAI's hardware effort was partly built on stolen groundwork. The interview records, due within days, will be the first hard test of that claim. If Apple narrows its R&D requests and Davila bites, the discovery window widens considerably.

In short: OpenAI's hiring paper trail is now on a court-ordered clock, and its chief hardware officer will have to answer questions under oath.