Apple Inc. has asked a U.S. judge to issue a preliminary injunction preventing two former employees and OpenAI from accessing, using, or disclosing alleged confidential information while its trade secrets lawsuit proceeds. Apple requested the court to require former employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, along with OpenAI employee Yu-Ting Peng and another former Apple employee now at OpenAI, to testify in depositions. The iPhone maker is seeking depositions from representatives of OpenAI and its commercial arm, IO Products, arguing that it will be “irreparably harmed” unless the court grants a preliminary injunction. Apple also filed a motion seeking expedited discovery, requesting documents related to the defendants’ alleged access to its proprietary and trade secret information. Apple filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California shortly after OpenAI defeated a legal challenge brought by Elon Musk‘s xAI. OpenAI stated in a blog post that “Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction is both based on false information and completely unnecessary because we do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets.” CNBC commentator Jim Cramer reacted, saying, “Apple going for the prelim injunction against OpenAI.. Gloves off.” In July, Apple sued OpenAI in federal court, alleging the AI company misappropriated its trade secrets to speed up development of consumer devices. The lawsuit marks a major escalation after the companies’ 2024 partnership on ChatGPT integration into the iPhone, which reportedly soured as OpenAI expanded into AI hardware