Musk takes legal action against to obstruct OpenAI's conversion to a for-profit structure
Musk cofounded OpenAI with Altman in 2015
OpenAI argues for-profit relocation needed for wiki.whenparked.com capital
Nonprofit to for-profit conversion rare, professional states
(Adds judge did not decide whether or not to release the injunction in paragraph 5, OpenAi's legal representatives' comment in paragraph 13)
By Anna Tong and Akash Sriram
OAKLAND, it-viking.ch Calif., Feb 4 (Reuters) - A federal judge said on Tuesday that parts of Elon Musk's claim against OpenAI to halt its conversion to a for-profit entity may go to trial, adding that the Tesla CEO will have to appear in court and testify.
"Something is going to trial in this case," U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, said early in the court session.
"(Elon Musk will) sit on the stand, present it to a jury, and a jury will decide who is right." Rogers was thinking about Musk's recent demand for an initial injunction to block OpenAI's conversion before going to trial, the most current move in a grudge match between the world's wealthiest individual and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that is playing out openly in court.
Rogers did not choose whether or not to release the injunction Tuesday, but at one point recommended that Musk's legal group had not presented sufficient proof for her to release the injunction, and indicated she may hold an evidentiary hearing, where both sides might present witnesses and evidence. The last time Rogers provided a preliminary injunction remained in Epic Games' case against Apple in May 2021.
Musk cofounded OpenAI with Altman in 2015, however left before the company took off and subsequently founded the contending AI startup xAI in 2023. OpenAI is now trying to shift from a nonprofit into a for-profit entity, securityholes.science which it states it requires to do to protect the capital needed to establish the finest artificial intelligence models. Last year, Musk filed a claim against OpenAI and Altman, that OpenAI ´ s creators initially approached him to fund a nonprofit concentrated on developing AI to benefit humanity, kenpoguy.com however that it is now concentrated on generating income. He later broadened the claim to include federal antitrust and other claims, and in December asked the judge presiding over the case to stop OpenAI from transitioning to a for-profit.
In action to Musk ´ s claim, OpenAI has said it will transfer to dismiss Musk ´ s claims and that Musk "should be competing in the marketplace instead of the courtroom." The stakes on OpenAI's business transition have now intensified, as OpenAI ´ s last fundraising round of $6.6 billion and a brand-new round of up to $25 billion under discussion with SoftBank are conditioned on the business reorganizing to get rid of the not-for-profit ´ s manage.
During the hearing, OpenAI's lawyers said the reason to allow OpenAI to become a for-profit entity is since it would be required to help with the objective of the nonprofit.
Such a restructuring would be highly uncommon, said Rose Chan Loui, executive director of the UCLA Law Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofits. Nonprofit conversions to for-profits have actually historically been for health care organizations like health centers, not endeavor capital-backed business, she said. (Reporting by Anna Tong in Oakland and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru, Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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Musk's Claim against OpenAI May go to Trial In Part, Judge Says
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