While Apple did its best to insulate Jony Ive in its lawsuit against OpenAI, the company may not be able to keep its former design chief out of the fight. Here’s why.
OpenAI has a chance to make things very awkward for Apple #
In its lawsuit accusing OpenAI of trade secret theft, Apple went out of its way not to mention Jony Ive, whose company, io Products, partnered with OpenAI to develop the hardware at the center of Apple’s allegations.
At one point, Apple alleges that “OpenAI and its cohorts have been engaging in a coordinated pattern of misconduct at an institutional level,” including io, which it describes only as “a venture co-founded by Mr. Tan and other former Apple leaders.” Beyond that, the lawsuit does not mention Ive, Evans Hankey, or any other former Apple executives by name, aside from Tang Tan and Chang Liu, who are directly accused of wrongdoing.
While it might be too early to tell whether Ive will be called to the witness stand, that is certainly one possibility, particularly if OpenAI decides to deploy him to make things painful or uncomfortable to Apple. That would put Apple in an unusually delicate position. Ive has remained publicly respectful of the company since leaving in 2019, and his public appearances and interviews are typically carefully controlled.
That includes appearances alongside Laurene Powell Jobs and his ongoing involvement with the Steve Jobs Archive. Earlier this year, Ive contributed with a personal letter to the Archive’s Letters to a Young Creator project, where he reflected on working with Jobs.
Apple, for its part, appears to have reciprocated that respect, carefully framing the reversal of several controversial decisions associated with the final years of Ive’s tenure, including the MacBook’s butterfly keyboard. Its apparent attempt to keep some distance between him and the lawsuit fits that same approach.
But Apple does not have complete control over who becomes involved once the case enters discovery. Given Ive’s role in founding io Products and overseeing the hardware program at the center of the dispute, OpenAI could argue that he has relevant knowledge about how the products were developed, what information the team relied on, and whether Apple’s trade secrets played any part.
Apple could then face the uncomfortable prospect of questioning Ive under oath, challenging his account, or attempting to undermine the testimony of the executive who shaped some of its most iconic products.
This wouldn’t be the first time Ive has testified in an Apple-related lawsuit. In 2012, he was deposed as part of its patent battle with Apple, where he answered questions about the company’s design process and early iPhone and iPad prototypes.
Appearing on the opposite side, however, could strain his carefully maintained relationship with Apple and even create friction with OpenAI if Ive feels the company unnecessarily dragged him into the dispute to gain leverage over his former bosses.
Do you think Jony Ive will get dragged into the lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
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