A federal district judge has been assigned to oversee Apple's trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila will now preside over the case, replacing Magistrate Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi, who was initially assigned when Apple filed suit in early July. Apple reportedly declined to proceed before the magistrate judge, opting instead for a district judge, which will require rescheduling the case management conference originally set for October 13.

The lawsuit alleges that two former Apple employees, Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, stole intellectual property to advance OpenAI's hardware development. Tan, previously Apple's Vice President of Product Design for iPhone and Apple Watch, allegedly emailed himself supplier information months before departing to become OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer. He also reportedly directed job candidates to bring unreleased Apple hardware components to interviews.

Liu allegedly failed to return authenticated Apple hardware and told a current Apple employee, Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng, of plans to access Apple's network. Apple contends this was a coordinated effort to misappropriate confidential information. The company seeks judgment, an injunction against use of its IP, return of property, damages, and royalties. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has not publicly commented on the allegations.