▲ OpenAI
Bloomberg reported on the 14th (local time) that OpenAI has agreed not to use trade secrets allegedly stolen from Apple by former Apple employees in its product development until the relevant lawsuit is concluded.
A hearing was held on the same day at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California regarding a lawsuit filed by Apple against OpenAI in July, in which Apple claimed that OpenAI was developing competing products using Apple's trade secrets.
At the hearing, the presiding judge suggested a high likelihood of ruling in Apple's favor, hinting at the possibility of granting a preliminary injunction to ban the use of trade secrets. In response, OpenAI submitted a voluntary stipulation.
The voluntary stipulation submitted by OpenAI includes submitting forensic images of the personal devices of 14 employees who moved from Apple to the court.
Bloomberg evaluated that this settlement was an unavoidable choice for OpenAI to avoid a crushing defeat, while securing practical gains for Apple by blocking OpenAI from using its proprietary technology for product development.
The two companies formed a partnership two years ago to integrate ChatGPT into Apple software such as the iPhone, but have experienced intense conflicts over the past several months as hundreds of Apple employees moved to OpenAI.
The lawsuit is acting as a burden for OpenAI, which is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) with a target corporate valuation of 1.4 trillion dollars (approx. 1,874 trillion won).
Apple claims that OpenAI, eyeing an entry into the hardware market, conspired with engineers to extensively misappropriate confidential information such as product designs, manufacturing processes, component technology, and supply chains.
On the other hand, OpenAI countered that it is independently developing a new device lineup tailored for AI and neither needs nor wants Apple's trade secrets, arguing that Apple, panicked by the talent drain, has turned routine hiring interviews into acts of trade secret theft.
Bloomberg reported that OpenAI's first consumer hardware is known to be a donut-shaped smart speaker priced over 300 dollars.
Just before the hearing, OpenAI claimed in a court filing that a forensic investigation confirmed an employee who worked at OpenAI and returned to Apple after six months had unauthorizedly transferred over 100 top-secret files, including detailed images of devices under development, to a personal account, and that it had shown this to Apple's senior management.
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