Apple Wins Early Forensic Access in OpenAI Trade Secrets Suit

A federal judge has ordered OpenAI to turn over forensic images of former Apple engineers' devices and the LINE chats in which two of them allegedly discussed wiping Apple-owned electronics, finding a valid risk that "critical forensic evidence on the devices of engineers that OpenAI poached could be destroyed."

U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila partially granted Apple's motion for expedited discovery on October 13, Bloomberg Law reported. Apple sued OpenAI, io Products and three former Apple employees in July 2026, accusing them of a "coordinated campaign" to steal trade secrets tied to upcoming consumer hardware products.

The order forces OpenAI to produce "all forensic images that Defendants have already collected in connection with the subject matter," LINE conversations between former Apple employees Chang Liu and Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng since January 1, 2026, interview guidance materials for OpenAI's Consumer Hardware Products Group, and documents describing the former Apple employees' responsibilities at OpenAI. Liu, Peng and ex-Apple hardware chief Tang Yew Tan were ordered to sit for early depositions, along with corporate representatives from OpenAI and io Products.

Davila warned that the alleged trade secrets could become "so deeply entangled with OpenAI's hardware products...that the harm cannot be undone."

It was not a clean win. Davila denied expedited discovery into OpenAI's research and development on metal finishes, power management and battery functionality, ruling those requests are appropriate on the ordinary timeline. He also found Apple's definition of "Apple Originated Information" "amorphous as currently defined," giving Apple five days to propose a narrower version.

OpenAI's position is that the suit is baseless, a pretext for what it frames as Apple's talent recruitment shortcomings. The ruling lands in the same week federal agents arrested another OpenAI engineer over a USB audio recorder allegedly hidden in an executive conference room, a separate matter but one of several OpenAI-insider stories on our tracker this week.