Business Insider España, citing Bloomberg, reported on October 14, 2026, that Judge Edward J. Davila ordered OpenAI to produce records tied to former Apple employees and authorized Apple to inspect specified LINE messages involving Chang Liu and Yu-Ting Peng (the report).
What the reported order covers
The records concern former Apple employees’ devices, interviews and conversations with former employees now working on OpenAI hardware teams. The report gave OpenAI five days to turn over materials it had already recovered during the litigation and 14 days for the remaining materials.
The reported action concerns evidence gathering. Apple alleges that confidential information about future products was used to advance OpenAI’s hardware efforts; OpenAI denies needing or using Apple trade secrets.
The docket lists an October 1 schedule
The case, Apple Inc. v. Liu, No. 5:26-cv-07078, was filed on July 10, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to the docket listing. NeoTeo previously covered the dispute’s earlier allegations in its report on Apple’s expanded lawsuit against OpenAI.
The docket lists a preliminary-injunction hearing for October 1, 2026, at 9 a.m. in San Jose, followed by an initial case-management conference at 10 a.m. An August 8 report by The Standard also said the judge would consider Apple’s request for an injunction and OpenAI’s request to dismiss the case at an October 1 hearing (the report). Business Insider España’s October 14 account described a first hearing scheduled for that same day.
Apple and OpenAI’s positions
Apple says confidential information about future products was used to accelerate OpenAI’s hardware work. OpenAI denies using Apple trade secrets and argues that Apple’s lawsuit seeks to impede employees from changing jobs. OpenAI also challenged Apple’s employee offboarding practices and said personal iCloud accounts may have mixed corporate and personal data, according to Business Insider España’s account.
