Apple and OpenAI escalate legal battle over trade secrets

Apple and OpenAI are locked in an escalating legal dispute over allegations that OpenAI stole Apple's trade secrets to develop its own hardware. Apple filed a lawsuit in July, accusing OpenAI of orchestrating a campaign to poach employees and misappropriate confidential information. In a new filing, Apple described OpenAI's actions as "instances of deliberate theft" and requested a preliminary injunction to halt OpenAI's hardware development Source: diariolibree. OpenAI has responded by calling the lawsuit "baseless" and filed a motion to dismiss the case permanently Source: diariolibree.

The allegations

Apple's lawsuit centers on former employees, including Chang Liu, a former iPhone engineer, and Tang Tan, a former Apple design executive who now heads hardware at OpenAI. Apple claims that Liu accessed confidential files after discovering an authentication flaw, and that Tan used his knowledge of Apple's internal codenames to extract information from job candidates Source: lavanguardia. Apple also alleges that OpenAI asked candidates to bring Apple prototypes and design files to interviews Source: lavanguardia. OpenAI disputes these claims, stating that Liu was actually contacted by Apple employees for help locating files, and that Tan always instructed his team not to use confidential information from other companies Source: lavozar.

The response

OpenAI has denied any wrongdoing, stating, "We do not have, nor do we want, any of their trade secrets" Source: larepublicaco. The company argues that Apple's lawsuit is "based on false information" and is an attempt to compensate for Apple's own failures in AI integration Source: larepublicaco. OpenAI also claims that Apple's pre-suit communication attempts were flawed, as lawyers mistakenly emailed the wrong person due to confusion over Asian surnames Source: lavozar.

What's next

A federal judge will hear arguments on Apple's motion for a preliminary injunction on October 1 Source: diariolibree. Meanwhile, the two companies remain business partners, with ChatGPT integrated into Apple products since 2024 Source: diariolibree.