Apple has asked a US judge to issue a preliminary injunction against two former employees and OpenAI, barring them from accessing, obtaining, using, or disclosing information Apple claims as confidential, as it pushes forward with a trade secrets lawsuit.

The iPhone maker filed a lawsuit last month against OpenAI and the two former workers now employed by the ChatGPT parent, accusing them of stealing trade secrets to help the startup enter the consumer hardware space. This move has sharply escalated the already strained relationship between the two companies.

On Monday, Apple also filed a motion seeking expedited discovery, including requests for documents related to the defendants' alleged access to Apple's proprietary and trade secret information. The company asked the judge to order depositions of the two ex-Apple employees, Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, as well as OpenAI employee Yu-Ting Peng and another unnamed OpenAI worker who previously worked at Apple.

Chang Liu was a senior system electrical engineer at Apple, while Tang Yew Tan served as the vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple also seeks to depose representatives from OpenAI and its business entity io Products, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

"Without a preliminary injunction, Apple will suffer irreparable harm," the company stated in a legal filing. OpenAI responded in a blog post later Monday, calling the injunction request "based on false information and entirely unnecessary, as we do not have and do not want any of their trade secrets."

Apple filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The case comes after OpenAI recently fended off a legal challenge from Elon Musk's xAI. The lawsuit sets the stage for a battle over control of future AI-powered devices, which could replace traditional apps or operating systems and, if successful, divert consumer attention from Apple's best-selling iPhone. Analysts believe OpenAI is developing its own phone or other device.