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The Apple OpenAI trial date is now fixed: July 19, 2027, at 9:00 a.m., under a case management order Judge Edward Davila issued on October 28, 2026. The order sets a full two-year litigation calendar for Apple’s trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI, two former Apple employees, and OpenAI’s hardware venture, io Products.
Apple OpenAI trial date: the key dates on the calendar
The schedule, agreed after an October 14 case management conference, runs through more than a dozen separate deadlines before anyone sees a courtroom. Electronic evidence exchange begins November 2, 2026. The deadline to amend pleadings or add parties falls on November 30, 2026. Document production must be substantially complete by February 5, 2027, with fact discovery closing on March 12, 2027. Expert reports follow through April 2027, and dispositive motions are due by May 5, 2027, with a hearing set for June 10. A final pretrial conference is scheduled for June 24, 2027, just weeks ahead of the July trial date itself.
What Apple’s lawsuit actually alleges
Apple filed the case on July 10, 2026 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing OpenAI of trade secret theft and breach of contract. Apple says OpenAI “deliberately and systematically solicited and stole confidential information” from current and former Apple employees, directed by senior leadership at the company. The filing also claims OpenAI approached one of Apple’s trusted manufacturing partners and obtained a proprietary metal-finishing technique after misleading the partner into believing Apple had authorized the disclosure.
The two former Apple employees at the center of the case
Apple names Tang Tan, now OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer and formerly Apple’s vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch, as a central figure. The suit alleges Tan used Apple codenames while recruiting for OpenAI, asked candidates to bring hardware parts such as batteries and logic boards, and circulated a document on evading exit security during offboarding. The second named former employee, Chang Liu, a former Apple senior systems and electrical engineer, is accused of keeping an Apple laptop, exploiting a bug to access Apple’s cloud storage, and downloading confidential files after joining OpenAI. Apple says more than 400 of its former employees now work at OpenAI in total, though only these two are named as defendants alongside the company itself.
What happens before the trial starts
Most of the next eight months will be invisible to the public: document exchanges, depositions and expert reports rather than courtroom drama. The order does include a June 1, 2027 deadline for lead counsel to meet and discuss settlement, pretrial filings and narrowing the issues for trial, though a scheduling step like that is routine and does not by itself signal the parties are close to settling. Apple has already won two procedural rulings on expedited discovery in the lawsuit’s early going, a sign the case is moving forward in earnest rather than stalling at the pleadings stage.
Part of a wider pattern of AI talent disputes
Apple’s case against OpenAI is not an isolated dispute. The AI industry’s rapid growth has triggered a wave of litigation over trade secrets and poached talent, as companies compete fiercely for engineers with specialized hardware and machine learning expertise. Musk’s xAI has separately accused OpenAI of stealing trade secrets in an unrelated case, illustrating how often these disputes now arise between major AI players rather than against traditional outside competitors. For Apple specifically, the case touches a sensitive point: the company has struggled publicly with its own generative AI efforts compared to rivals, making allegations that a competitor profited from stolen Apple expertise particularly pointed. However the case resolves, the two-year runway to trial gives both sides ample time to settle quietly before a jury ever hears the evidence, which is common in high-stakes technology litigation of this kind.
Legal analysts following the case say the detailed case management order, with its dozen-plus specific deadlines, reflects a judge intent on keeping a high-profile, high-stakes dispute on a predictable track rather than letting procedural fights drag the timeline out indefinitely. That kind of discipline from the court is notable given how contentious trade secret cases involving departing executives and competing products can become once discovery begins in earnest.
FAQ: Apple’s case against OpenAI
When is the Apple v. OpenAI trial scheduled?
The Apple OpenAI trial date is set for July 19, 2027, at 9:00 a.m., under a case management order issued October 28, 2026 by Judge Edward Davila.
What does Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI claim?
Apple alleges OpenAI systematically solicited and stole confidential information from current and former Apple employees, and that it obtained a manufacturing partner’s proprietary technique through misleading conduct.
Who are the former Apple employees named in the suit?
Apple names Tang Tan, now OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer and a former Apple VP of product design, and Chang Liu, a former Apple systems and electrical engineer, as central figures in the case.
When was the Apple v. OpenAI lawsuit filed?
Apple filed the lawsuit on July 10, 2026, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
Does the June 2027 settlement deadline mean a settlement is likely?
Not necessarily. The June 1, 2027 deadline requires lead counsel to meet and discuss settlement and other pretrial matters, which is a standard procedural step rather than a sign the parties are actively negotiating a deal.
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Sources
- TechCrunch — Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft. https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/10/apple-sues-openai-over-alleged-trade-secret-theft/
- 9to5Mac — Apple and OpenAI trade secrets lawsuit now has an official trial date. https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/28/apple-and-openai-trade-secrets-lawsuit-now-has-an-official-trial-date/
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