Ep. 72: Is OpenAI Trying to Fight Apple in Public Square?

In Apple's high-profile case against OpenAI, the latter went on a public offensive. It aggressively projected its version of the story, countering Apple’s allegations through many public channels, including news media and its own blog, even before filing its official legal reply to the court.In this episode, I continue the discussion with Christie Thoene, former VP of Legal and Policy Comms at Qualcomm, on OpenAI’s strategy, how it exploited Apple’s initial misstep to set its own narrative in the public, the delicate balance Apple has to maintain between pushing its case without creating the perception that it is impeding innovation, how important the PR offensive is in high-visibility cases like this, what are the next step and more. We also delve into what Apple’s motion for injunction and OpenAI’s motion to dismiss the case mean.Index:00:00 - Intro02:40 - Guest intro (Christie Thoene) 03:15 - OpenAI's strategy to publicly respond to Apple's allegations before court filing, and Apple's initial misstep (company's #blog and MSNBC)07:11 - Apple's request for "preliminary #injunction" against OpenAI to stop working on the disputed products/services and OpenAI's request for "motion to dismiss" the case because of lack of merit09:20 - What OpenAI's comms team might be thinking now, and what would be their short-term goals; Quickly set the narrative in their favor, and make the case a public spectacle11:31 - What Apple's comms team might be thinking now, and what would be their short-term goals; Not fight it in the public square, don't be perceived as a "large company" trying to quell innovation; making sure the #brand is not affected16:33 - Does the public posturing affect the case? Time is on Apple's side, whereas OpenAI would like to quickly close this case so that it doesn't affect their product & IPO plans19:47 - How the public discourse affects the judge, potential jury, and Apple's current and potential new partners22:00 - Will public opinion affect the legal positioning of both companies?25:26 - Next steps: 1) OpenAI's legal reply to court (Aug 2026); 2) Judge's decision on the injunction and #motiontodismiss requests (Oct 2026)27:22 - Closing