OpenAI disputes Apple's trade secrets lawsuit, citing Apple's own security lapses

Apple and OpenAI are locked in an escalating legal dispute over alleged theft of trade secrets. In July, Apple filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI, its hardware unit io Products, and two former Apple employees—Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan—of coordinating to steal confidential information about unreleased Apple products and hardware designs. Apple claims that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI and that at least 11 additional former employees may have been involved in or witnessed unauthorized transfer of confidential information.

OpenAI has responded with a public blog post and legal filings that directly challenge Apple's claims. The AI company published private emails and text messages it says contradict key facts in Apple's lawsuit. OpenAI argues that Apple's own outside lawyers made procedural errors—including emailing the wrong person at OpenAI after confusing "two Asian last names" and misrepresenting a conversation with OpenAI's general counsel that the company now concedes never occurred. OpenAI states it did not receive the specific allegations in the lawsuit when Apple first contacted it in February; instead, Apple indicated it was "resolving any issues."

Central to OpenAI's defense is an argument that Apple's own security practices undermine its trade secrets claim. In a motion to dismiss, OpenAI submitted evidence showing that an Apple manager remained logged into the personal iCloud account of Chang Liu after he left the company in January and later asked Liu for technical assistance with Apple projects. OpenAI argues that Apple allowed employees to use personal iCloud accounts for work and failed to properly revoke access upon departure. OpenAI contends these "inexplicable information-management practices" mean the information does not qualify as legally protected trade secrets and that any data access resulted from Apple's own security failures rather than coordinated theft.

Apple filed a motion for a preliminary injunction this week seeking to block OpenAI from developing AI devices or products based on Apple's technology and requesting expedited discovery. Apple alleges that former employees met to discuss unannounced products before OpenAI job interviews, retained company-issued devices, and took screenshots of confidential documents. The company claims it has suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable harm without a court order.

The legal battle reflects a broader deterioration in the Apple-OpenAI relationship. The two companies previously collaborated on AI integration but have shifted to competition as OpenAI moves into consumer hardware—particularly after acquiring Jony Ive's design firm io and recruiting several former Apple staff—while Apple partners with Google to develop its Siri voice assistant. The case is being litigated in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California under the case name Apple Inc. v. Liu.