Apple Lawsuits

Apple was not able to get an AirPods Pro class action lawsuit filed in November 2024 dismissed, but the judge overseeing the case did throw out some of the claims this week, giving the company a partial win. The lawsuit covers the first-generation AirPods Pro, accusing Apple of false advertising for selling AirPods Pro models with ongoing crackling or static issues. Shortly after the AirPods ...

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo recruited a former Apple Watch engineer who stole trade secret information from Apple and then gave a presentation on that data to hundreds of Oppo employees, Apple said in a court filing last week [PDF]. Back in August, Apple accused former employee Chen Shi of stealing Apple Watch trade secrets to provide to Oppo, and since then, the two companies have been...

In July, Apple sued well-known YouTuber Jon Prosser and his acquaintance Michael Ramacciotti over alleged theft of the company's trade secrets, after Prosser leaked some iOS 26 details in videos uploaded to his YouTube channel Front Page Tech. If you are not caught up on the lawsuit, read our initial coverage to learn more. Earlier this week, Prosser told The Verge he has "been in active...

In July, Apple filed a lawsuit against Jon Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti over alleged theft of the company's trade secrets. The complaint alleged the pair coordinated to break into former Apple software engineer Ethan Lipnik's development iPhone, in order to access and profit off details about iOS 19, which ended up being called iOS 26. Prosser leaked various details about what is now...

In July, Apple filed a lawsuit against Jon Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti over alleged theft of the company's trade secrets. The complaint alleged the pair coordinated to break into former Apple software engineer Ethan Lipnik's development iPhone, in order to access and profit off details about iOS 19, which ended up being called iOS 26. Prosser leaked various details about what is now...

Apple has filed a court motion to dismiss Elon Musk's lawsuit alleging the company conspired with OpenAI to stifle competition in the AI market, arguing the antitrust claims are based on "speculation on top of speculation." In a Texas filing Tuesday, Apple's lawyers defended the company's decision to integrate ChatGPT into iOS, claiming it did nothing wrong in selecting OpenAI as its initial ...

In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...

The court order that required Apple to collect no fees from developers who link to purchases outside of the App Store is unconstitutional, Apple said today in a reply brief directed at Epic Games and filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Apple argues that it has been stripped of its rights to be compensated for its intellectual property in a ruling that sets a dangerous precedent for all ...

Elon Musk's xAI startup today filed a Texas lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing the two companies of conspiring to "ensure their continued dominance" in the AI market. Earlier this month, Musk threatened to sue Apple and OpenAI because his apps X and Grok have not been featured in the App Store's "Must Have" apps section, and he has now followed through with that threat. The...

Apple on Thursday filed a lawsuit against its former employee Chen Shi, as well as the companies OPPO and InnoPeak Technology, over alleged trade secret misappropriation. Apple alleges that Shi "conspired to steal Apple's trade secrets relating to Apple Watch and to disclose them to his new employers, OPPO and InnoPeak." OPPO is a Chinese company that sells smartphones, tablets,...

Apple today filed a lawsuit in Northern California against Chen Shi, a former employee who left Apple and took a job at Chinese smartphone maker Oppo. According to Apple, Shi stole trade secrets relating to Apple Watch development and provided the information to Oppo. Shi was a "highly compensated Sensor System Architect" at Apple from January 2020 to June 2025, which meant he had access to...

U.S. Apple Watch owners who signed up to receive a payment from an Apple lawsuit settlement over swollen batteries have started receiving their money this week. The lawsuit was filed in 2021, but Apple agreed to pay a $20 million settlement in January of this year to avoid further legal fees. Apple Watch Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 owners had until April 10 to submit claims, but anyone...

New York-based law firm Kasowitz LLP today announced that it is filing a lawsuit against Apple on behalf of its client, Texas-based company Fintiv, over alleged theft of mobile wallet technology used to create Apple Pay. In a press release, the law firm said the complaint accuses Apple of violating U.S. federal and state RICO and trade secret laws. According to the press release, the...

In a federal court in Massachusetts on Friday, Apple sued a small movie theater chain named Apple Cinemas over alleged trademark infringement. "Apple Cinemas is knowingly and intentionally using the name Apple to sow confusion for its own benefit," alleged attorneys for Apple, in a complaint filed against all Apple Cinemas locations, and a Sand Media Corp Inc. company connected to the chain. ...

Apple has successfully secured the dismissal of a federal lawsuit accusing it of conspiring with Visa and Mastercard to suppress competition in the payments network industry and inflate merchant transaction fees (via Reuters). The Southern District of Illinois ruled in favor of Apple, Visa, and Mastercard in the case brought by Illinois-based beverage retailer Mirage Wine & Spirits and other ...

Apple has asked a U.S. federal appeals court to overturn an import ban on Apple Watch models with blood oxygen monitoring capabilities, arguing that the decision was based on a patent dispute involving an undeveloped competing product, Reuters reports. On Monday, attorneys for Apple appeared before a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to contest a 2023...

Apple is accusing one of its former engineers of stealing confidential design and development information related to the Apple Vision Pro headset and taking it to Snap, according to a lawsuit filed in California. Apple filed the complaint against Di Liu on June 24, 2025, in Santa Clara County Superior Court, alleging that Liu misappropriated trade secrets during his final days of employment...

Apple shareholder Eric Tucker today filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the company in a California court, over alleged violations of federal U.S. securities laws. Apple's CEO Tim Cook, former CFO Luca Maestri, and current CFO Kevan Parekh are also named as defendants in the case, which still needs to be certified by a judge. The complaint alleges that Apple made false...

Apple will face a proposed class action lawsuit in California federal court over allegations that iCloud unlawfully monopolizes iPhone users' access to core device backups, following a judge's decision to deny the company's motion to dismiss the case (via Reuters). Earlier this week, the Northern District of California ruled that plaintiffs had sufficiently amended their complaint to move...

If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving ‌Siri‌ spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...