Apple asks court to block OpenAI from using alleged trade secrets before trial

Apple is not waiting for trial. It asked a judge to stop OpenAI from using its alleged trade secrets now.

The motions

On August 3, 2026, Apple filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court seeking to bar OpenAI and two former Apple employees from accessing, acquiring, using or disclosing information Apple claims as trade secrets. Apple also moved for expedited discovery, asking the court to compel documents and depositions ahead of the usual schedule.

A preliminary injunction is the aggressive path. Rather than waiting for a full trial to establish whether trade secrets were taken, Apple wants restrictions in force while the case is litigated.

Who gets deposed

The named deponents include Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, both defendants who left Apple for OpenAI, plus OpenAI’s Yu-Ting Peng and a second OpenAI employee who formerly worked at Apple.

A hearing on both motions is set for October 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. That date is now the first real milestone in the case: the judge’s response to the injunction request will signal how seriously the court takes Apple’s urgency argument.

OpenAI’s response

OpenAI denies the allegations and calls the injunction request unnecessary, saying it does not possess or want Apple’s trade secrets.

It has also gone on the offensive with its own exhibit: OpenAI published messages it says show Apple employees continuing to ask Chang Liu for help locating internal files weeks after he left. The implication OpenAI wants drawn is that the relationship between Liu and his former employer was messier than the complaint suggests.

Where this stands

These are allegations on both sides. No court has ruled, and nothing here has been proven. What the filings do establish is the temperature: Apple considers the matter urgent enough to seek pre-trial restrictions, and OpenAI considers it worth contesting publicly with receipts.

October 1 is the date to watch.