You would think lawsuits are pretty straightforward. You present your evidence, the other side presents theirs, then a judge or jury reviews them and the arguments and makes a ruling. Simple enough, right? However, the reality feels more like a series of “gotchas,” where each side tries to find various legal loopholes to catch the other one out. Such is the case in the Apple and OpenAI trade secrets lawsuit.
Latest development in the Apple vs OpenAI trade secrets lawsuit
Not long ago, OpenAI accused Apple of improperly adding new evidence to the case. According to OpenAI, Apple used its reply brief to slip in five expert declarations and 13 exhibits that should have come earlier. OpenAI asked the court to strike two of those declarations.
Now Apple is flipping that around. According to Apple, OpenAI’s filing was only supposed to object to the new evidence. Instead, Apple says the defendants used it to argue the merits of the injunction request all over again. Apple points to a court rule that bars extra argument in that kind of filing.
The company also calls the filing a sur-reply, which is an added response a party normally needs permission to file. Apple says OpenAI never asked.
Now, Apple isn’t asking the judge to toss OpenAI’s material. Maybe they know this isn’t enough to get it tossed. Instead, the Cupertino company wants the court to weigh everything from both sides when it decides the injunction request in the Apple vs OpenAI trade secrets case.
A little bit of backstory
For those unfamiliar, back on July 10, 2026, Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging trade secret theft and breach of contract. The suit also names io Products, OpenAI hardware chief Tang Tan, and former Apple engineer Chang Liu.
Apple claims Tan used his inside knowledge to quiz job candidates about unreleased products. It says Liu downloaded confidential files after joining OpenAI. Apple also says more than 400 of its former employees now work at OpenAI.
OpenAI has since denied all of it. The company says it has no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. In August, it asked the judge to dismiss the case, arguing Apple never pinned down which secrets were actually taken.
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