xAI's Trade Secret Case Against OpenAI Is Dead. The Appeal Shows What Your NDA Needs to Prove
A federal judge dismissed xAI's trade-secret suit against OpenAI with prejudice on June 15, 2026, and xAI filed a Ninth Circuit appeal on July 13, 2026. The ruling turned on what OpenAI knew, not what a departing engineer did, and that is exactly what a well-drafted NDA needs to document.
