OpenAI won't use alleged Apple trade secrets
What's the story
OpenAI has agreed not to use the trade secrets that Apple claims were stolen by employees who switched from the tech giant to the artificial intelligence start-up. The agreement was made during a court hearing on Wednesday, where US District Judge Edward Davila said he was "highly likely" to side with Apple and issue an injunction against OpenAI.
Compliance measures
OpenAI's potential loss in legal battle looms large
As part of the agreement, OpenAI has also agreed to collect forensic images of 14 employees' devices that may contain Apple's confidential information.
This move is seen as a way for the AI firm, led by Sam Altman, to avoid an outright loss in its first major legal battle with Apple.
The tech giant had accused OpenAI in July of plotting to steal intellectual property related to future products and using it to enhance its work on rival future hardware.
Legal protection
Judge says he won't grant Apple everything it wanted
The agreement between OpenAI and Apple protects the latter's proprietary information from being used by OpenAI for its own technology development.
However, during the hearing in San Jose, Judge Davila said he wouldn't grant Apple everything it wanted.
He thought a proposed forensic inspection of all devices and repositories containing Apple trade secrets was a "huge ask."
Legal strategy
Apple agrees to limit inspections to a small number
In response to Judge Davila's comments, Apple's lawyer John M. Desmarais said the company would limit its inspections to a small number of employees who had switched to OpenAI.
The ongoing dispute between the two companies has been brewing for months, even though they have had a partnership for two years that integrated ChatGPT into Apple software.
Allegations
Apple accuses OpenAI of conspiring to extract confidential information
In its lawsuit, Apple accused OpenAI, its hardware chief, and a former iPhone hardware engineer of conspiring to extract confidential information from former Apple employees.
The tech giant claimed this information related to product design, manufacturing, component technologies, testing methodologies, and the company's supply chain.
Apple alleged that OpenAI is using this information to "advance OpenAI's efforts to enter the consumer hardware market."
Counter claims
OpenAI has strongly denied the allegations
OpenAI has strongly denied Apple's allegations, saying the lawsuit is an attempt to prevent employees from leaving for a competitor.
The start-up also contended that Apple is trying to portray "ordinary job interviews as acts of trade secret misappropriation."
Hours before Wednesday's hearing, OpenAI countered Apple's claims by alleging that a former employee (who left Apple for OpenAI but later returned to Apple) sent "over a hundred highly confidential files" about at least one unreleased OpenAI device to personal accounts.