# Apple seeks court order to block OpenAI from using alleged trade secrets

> Apple filed for a preliminary injunction against OpenAI in a trade-secrets dispute.

*Apple asked a federal judge to bar OpenAI and two former employees from using confidential information as OpenAI builds consumer hardware.*

By Behzad Hosseini · WireRead
Canonical: https://wireread.com/news/apple-seeks-court-order-to-block-openai-from-using-alleged-trade-secrets

Apple filed for a preliminary injunction on Monday against OpenAI, seeking to stop the company and two former Apple employees from using alleged trade secrets. Apple said it "will be irreparably harmed absent a preliminary injunction" if the request is denied.

The filing, made in Apple v. Liu (case 5:26-cv-07078) in the Northern District of California, San Jose, follows a lawsuit Apple brought in July. Apple alleges that former senior system electrical engineer Chang Liu and former vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch Tang Yew Tan took confidential information to OpenAI to help the company enter consumer hardware. OpenAI's hardware unit, io Products, is also named as a defendant.

The proposed injunction would bar OpenAI and the two engineers from accessing, using or disclosing the disputed information while the case continues, according to the filing.

Apple also asked the court to fast-track discovery and to allow depositions of Liu, Tan, OpenAI's Yu-Ting Peng, an unnamed additional former Apple employee now at OpenAI, and corporate representatives of both OpenAI and io. Apple said more former employees may be involved.

Before filing, Apple offered to withdraw the injunction request if OpenAI agreed to five conditions. OpenAI accepted three: stopping use of the information, stopping disclosure of it, and preserving evidence. OpenAI declined to accept forensic inspections or a search of its systems.

OpenAI rejected Apple's claims in a blog post, saying the request is "both based on false information and completely unnecessary because we do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets." OpenAI published internal messages that it said show Apple staff contacted Liu for help after he had left the company, according to [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/08/04/openai-fires-back-at-apple-publishing-private-emails-to-counter-trade-secret-claims/).

OpenAI's first hardware product, a screenless desk companion developed by Jony Ive's team following the $6.5 billion acquisition of io, is expected in 2027, according to [9to5Mac](https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/04/apple-preliminary-injunction-openai/).

A hearing on Apple's motion is scheduled for 1 October.

## Key takeaways

- Apple filed the injunction motion on 3 August 2026 in Apple v. Liu in San Jose federal court.
- Apple accuses two former employees, Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, of taking confidential data to OpenAI.
- A hearing on the motion is set for 1 October; OpenAI denies holding or wanting any trade secrets.

## Sources

- [Apple seeks court order to block OpenAI from using alleged trade secrets](https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/04/apple-preliminary-injunction-openai/) — 9to5Mac, 2026-08-04
- [Apple says more ex-employees may have taken confidential data to OpenAI](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/04/apple-says-more-ex-employees-may-have-taken-confidential-data-to-openai/) — TechCrunch, 2026-08-04
- [OpenAI fires back at Apple, publishing private emails to counter trade-secret claims](https://fortune.com/2026/08/04/openai-fires-back-at-apple-publishing-private-emails-to-counter-trade-secret-claims/) — Fortune, 2026-08-04