OpenAI lawsuit reassigned to U.S. District Judge Davila
Apple's trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI has been reassigned from Magistrate Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi to U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in the Northern District of California, according to filings reported on July 23, 2026. Apple submitted a consent-or-declination form that declined magistrate jurisdiction, triggering the reassignment, with Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins assigned to handle discovery matters. The case also names Jony Ive's io Products as a defendant.
Allegations against former Apple employees
The lawsuit, filed in early July 2026, accuses two former Apple employees—Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, the former Vice President of Product Design for iPhone and Apple Watch—of stealing intellectual property to enrich OpenAI's hardware efforts. Apple alleges Tan began emailing himself information about Apple suppliers months before leaving to serve as OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer and directed candidates to bring unreleased hardware components to OpenAI interviews. Liu is also alleged to have failed to return Apple-issued hardware still authenticated to Apple's networks. Apple is seeking judgment, an injunction against use and possession of its intellectual property, return of its property, damages, and royalties.
October hearing vacated as case deadlines remain
The initial case management conference previously scheduled for October 13, 2026 before Judge DeMarchi has been vacated and will need to be rescheduled before Judge Davila. Two other sets of deadlines remain in place: the parties must discuss settlement options and plans for exchanging evidence by September 22, then make their initial disclosures and file a joint case management statement by October 6.
Siri class action settlement wins preliminary approval
A federal judge granted preliminary approval on July 17, 2026 to Apple's $250 million settlement of a U.S. class action lawsuit over the delayed launch of a personalized Siri, according to court documents reported on July 23, 2026. The lawsuit followed Apple's March 2025 delay of the personalized Siri launch and alleged false advertising. Apple agreed to settle "to stay focused" on delivering products and services, despite touting other Apple Intelligence features already released. Each eligible claimant will receive a per-device payment of $25, potentially rising to $95 if total claims are lower than anticipated.
Eligibility and rollout milestones for the Siri settlement
To qualify, customers must reside in the U.S. and have purchased any iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 model between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025. No settlement website is yet live, and no action is required from eligible customers at this time; class members will be notified by email within approximately 45 days after preliminary approval. Separately, Apple announced the revamped "Siri AI" at WWDC 2026, with the assistant available to test on the iOS 27 developer beta, a public beta expected this month, and a full iOS 27 release in September for iPhone 15 Pro or newer users.
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