OpenAI just gave Apple most of what it wanted without waiting for a formal injunction. At a Wednesday hearing in San Jose, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila said he was "highly likely" to bar OpenAI from using trade secrets Apple claims ex-employees took when they jumped ship. OpenAI then volunteered not to use those alleged secrets while the case continues, Bloomberg reported, and 9to5Mac followed.
Under the deal, OpenAI also has to collect forensic images from 14 current or former employees whose devices may hold Apple confidential material. Davila can enforce the agreement and sanction the company if it slips. He still pushed back on Apple's ask to inspect every relevant device and repository, calling it a "huge ask." Apple's lawyer, John M. Desmarais, said the company would stick to a small group: "They don't have 400 bad apples… they have a few bad apples and know who they are."
Apple sued OpenAI, io Products, and former Apple engineers Chang Liu and Tang Tan in July over hardware designs, manufacturing know-how, and supply-chain details. Hours before the hearing, OpenAI filed its own claim that a worker who returned to Apple walked off with more than 100 files on an unreleased OpenAI device. The voluntary freeze keeps Apple's secrets off OpenAI's hardware roadmap without a clean win on the record.
— via 9to5Mac and Bloomberg Law