Apple and ChatGPT creator OpenAI failed to convince a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit from Elon Musk’s X Corp, which accuses them of conspiring to monopolize the markets for smartphones and generative AI chatbots.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas, said Musk’s social media platform,
Pittman said in his brief order that his ruling should not be viewed as a judgment on the merits of X’s allegations, and that he will examine disputes about the facts at a later stage in the case.
Musk companies say Apple violated the Antitrust Law
OpenAI, in a statement Thursday, called the lawsuit “consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment and we look forward to proving it in court.”
Apple and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Musk’s companies claimed in the lawsuit filed in August that Apple has violated antitrust law by exclusively integrating ChatGPT into the Apple Intelligence features of iPhones and other Apple devices. The lawsuit alleged that Apple had illegally excluded competitors in its partnership with OpenAI.
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X and xAI also alleged that Apple reinforced exclusivity by including ChatGPT in its “Must Have Apps” list, while sidelining competitors in the App Store.
Apple, in seeking dismissal of the lawsuit, said its agreement with OpenAI is not exclusive and that the complaint does not allege any agreement that prevents Apple from working with other chatbots.
“Choosing a partner first is not illegal,” Apple told the court.
Apple denied any anti-competitive conduct, telling the court that other chatbots remain available through browsers and apps, and that X and Grok are among the most popular apps in the App Store rankings.
OpenAI, in responding to the lawsuit, accused Musk of waging “a litigation campaign” against OpenAI and ChatGPT. Musk is separately suing OpenAI and its leaders in federal court in California.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer app in history in the months after its launch in late 2022.
Musk’s xAI acquired X in March for $33 billion to improve its chatbot training capabilities. Musk has also integrated the Grok chatbot into vehicles made by his electric vehicle company, Tesla.
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