A lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s companies against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and OpenAI regarding alleged monopolistic practices has been modified. The filing, submitted by xAI and X Corp, originally accused Apple of violating antitrust laws by favoring OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the iOS App Store. The companies sought billions of dollars in damages regarding these claims.
On Monday, xAI withdrew its claims specifically against Apple. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman approved the removal of Apple from the lawsuit, as reported by Bloomberg. However, the legal action against OpenAI remains active. The decision to drop Apple while keeping OpenAI in the suit suggests that the dispute between Musk and the AI company he co-founded is not yet resolved.
The legal situation between Apple and OpenAI has also shifted. In July, Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and two former Apple employees, Tang Tan and Chang Liu. The iPhone maker accused them of misappropriating trade secrets related to hardware design, manufacturing, and supply-chain operations as OpenAI attempted to enter the consumer devices market. In August, Apple requested a preliminary injunction to prevent the former employees and OpenAI from using alleged confidential information.
In response, OpenAI asked the judge to dismiss Apple’s suit. The company alleges that Apple is using the legal action to slow a potential competitor and discourage staff from leaving the tech giant.
