Summary
Rebecca Trinidad, a pro se plaintiff, sued OpenAI alleging that OpenAI misappropriated her trade secret protocols and templates and commercialized them with industry partners.[1] Trinidad asserted claims under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), but Judge Jon S. Tigar granted OpenAI's motion to dismiss on January 5, 2026, finding that Trinidad had agreed to OpenAI's Terms of Service permitting use of inputs and outputs, and that she failed to take reasonable measures to keep her frameworks secret by voluntarily sharing them with ChatGPT.[1][4] The case is now on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.[5]
Case details
- Court
- NDCA
- Docket number
- 4:25-cv-06328
- Filed
- Jul 29, 2025
- Status
- Active
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