---
title: OpenAI Asks a Federal Judge to Throw Out Apple's Trade Secrets Case
description: OpenAI and its co-defendants filed to dismiss Apple's trade secrets complaint on August 5. Both that motion and Apple's injunction bid are set for October 1.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-08-06T08:35:10.451Z
updated: 2026-08-06T08:35:10.465Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/openai-motion-dismiss-apple-trade-secrets-case
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/1024px-Disrupt_SF_TechCrunch_Disrupt_San_Francisco_2019_-_Day_2_48838377432.jpg
categories: Legal
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

OpenAI and the four co-defendants in Apple's trade secrets lawsuit asked a federal judge on August 5 to throw the case out. Two days earlier, Apple had asked the same judge for a preliminary injunction that would bar them from using what it says are its trade secrets. Both requests are now set to be argued on the same morning.

The case is Apple Inc. v. Liu, filed on July 10 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California and assigned to Judge Edward J. Davila. [The public docket](https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73602437/apple-inc-v-liu/) lists four claims under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act and two for breach of contract. The defendants are OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI Group PBC, the hardware company io Products, and two former Apple employees, Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan.

## Apple's Complaint Runs to 41 Pages and Names Two Former Staff

Apple alleges that Liu, an engineer who spent eight years at the company before joining OpenAI in January 2026, failed to return a company laptop, and that an authentication flaw still let him reach Apple's network storage. It says he downloaded dozens of files, among them technical presentations, engineering data and material on unreleased products, one collection running past 1,000 pages.

Tan spent 24 years at Apple and left as vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch. He is now OpenAI's chief hardware officer. Apple alleges he used internal Apple project names while interviewing Apple employees, and that candidates were asked to bring "actual parts," prototypes and design material to their interviews for show and tell sessions. A further allegation is that io used a confidential metal-finishing technique after misleading an Apple manufacturing partner into believing it had Apple's permission. Apple describes all of it as a "coordinated pattern of misconduct at an institutional level," as the legal news site Jurist reported from the complaint. None of the allegations has been tested in court.

## OpenAI Returns Apple's "Rotten to Its Core" Line

Mark Gurman, who covers Apple, [posted a line from the dismissal motion on X](https://x.com/markgurman/status/2085248814638895485) on August 6: "Plainly filed without adequate investigation and built on selectively excerpted communications and ordinary conduct stripped of context, Apple's complaint is, to borrow its own phrase, 'rotten to its core.'" The phrase comes from Apple's own complaint, where it was used about OpenAI's hardware business.

That line is the only part of the motion quoted publicly so far. The filing came with declarations from two lawyers, Kate Lazarus and Jodie Cheng, whose exhibits are redacted, and a separate administrative motion asks the court to consider whether another party's material should stay sealed.

## Both Motions Are Set for October 1 in Courtroom 4

Apple's injunction motion, filed on August 3, is listed for 9 a.m. on October 1 before Judge Davila in San Jose. Responses are due by August 17 and replies by August 24. The motion to dismiss, filed two days later, is listed for the same time in the same courtroom, with responses due by August 19 and replies by August 26.

## OpenAI Bought the Hardware Unit at the Center of the Case for $6.5 Billion

io was founded by former Apple staff including Jony Ive, and OpenAI acquired it last year. Apple's complaint says more than four hundred former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, a figure it uses to argue scale, and that it first raised its concerns with OpenAI in February and got no reply before suing in July. OpenAI's only public comment when the suit landed was a statement on X: "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere."

The two companies remain partners on putting ChatGPT into Apple products while the case runs.

## FAQ

**Q: What is the purpose of a motion to dismiss?**
It asks a judge to end a case at the outset, on the argument that even if everything alleged in the complaint is true, it does not amount to a valid legal claim. It does not require the defendant to dispute the facts.

**Q: What happens after a motion to dismiss is denied?**
The case carries on into the normal litigation process, including discovery and eventually trial or settlement, with the surviving claims still to be proven.

**Q: What is the Defend Trade Secrets Act?**
A 2016 federal law that lets a trade secret owner sue in federal court over misappropriation, including asking for an injunction to stop continued use of the disputed information. Apple's case is brought under it and cites the injunction provision at 18 U.S.C. 1836(a).

**Q: Did OpenAI acquire io?**
Yes, last year, in a deal reported at $6.5 billion. io was founded by former Apple employees including Jony Ive, and it is a named defendant in Apple's lawsuit.