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A federal judge in San Francisco signalled that she is inclined to dismiss a lawsuit filed by xAI, the artificial intelligence firm founded by Elon Musk, against OpenAI. US District Judge Rita Lin said her “tentative view” was to grant OpenAI’s request to dismiss the case, adding that xAI may be permitted to revise its claims if the lawsuit is thrown out. A hearing is scheduled for 3 February to consider the matter further.
Lin asked both sides to address her preliminary reasoning during oral arguments scheduled for February 3.
Musk’s startup filed the lawsuit in September, accusing OpenAI of hiring xAI employees to obtain confidential information linked to the AI chatbot Grok.
OpenAI, known for its ChatGPT chatbot, responded by accusing Musk of conducting a “campaign to harass a competitor with unfounded legal claims” because xAI could not keep up with ChatGPT.
In a four-page filing outlining her thinking, Lin said xAI did not plausibly allege that OpenAI acquired or encouraged the theft of trade secrets, despite claims that some former xAI employees downloaded source code before leaving.
She also said it was not plausible to infer from the complaint that OpenAI used xAI’s trade secrets, or that former xAI employees used them after joining OpenAI.
The judge signalled she may also dismiss an unfair competition claim, stating that xAI’s poaching allegations “all focus on poaching in service of acquiring xAI’s trade secrets and do not identify any other reason why the hiring of those employees was anticompetitive.”
The lawsuit forms part of a broader legal battle between Musk and OpenAI, which he co-founded and is also suing over its conversion to a for-profit company.
Musk, the world’s richest person, is seeking as much as $134.5 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft in that case. Jury selection is scheduled for April 27.
Lin asked both sides to address her preliminary reasoning during oral arguments scheduled for February 3.
Musk’s startup filed the lawsuit in September, accusing OpenAI of hiring xAI employees to obtain confidential information linked to the AI chatbot Grok.
OpenAI, known for its ChatGPT chatbot, responded by accusing Musk of conducting a “campaign to harass a competitor with unfounded legal claims” because xAI could not keep up with ChatGPT.
Court questions strength of claims
In a four-page filing outlining her thinking, Lin said xAI did not plausibly allege that OpenAI acquired or encouraged the theft of trade secrets, despite claims that some former xAI employees downloaded source code before leaving.
She also said it was not plausible to infer from the complaint that OpenAI used xAI’s trade secrets, or that former xAI employees used them after joining OpenAI.
The judge signalled she may also dismiss an unfair competition claim, stating that xAI’s poaching allegations “all focus on poaching in service of acquiring xAI’s trade secrets and do not identify any other reason why the hiring of those employees was anticompetitive.”
The lawsuit forms part of a broader legal battle between Musk and OpenAI, which he co-founded and is also suing over its conversion to a for-profit company.
Musk, the world’s richest person, is seeking as much as $134.5 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft in that case. Jury selection is scheduled for April 27.
