OpenAI says Apple’s own security and offboarding practices are to blame for the trade-secret dispute, while Apple alleges former employees took confidential hardware information. The case remains active, with an injunction hearing set for October 1.
OpenAI is pushing back against Apple’s trade-secret lawsuit, arguing that Apple’s own data-handling and employee-offboarding practices made the dispute possible. The filing adds a new dimension to a case that could affect how the companies compete in consumer hardware.
Apple sued OpenAI, its hardware subsidiary io Products, and former Apple employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu in July. Apple alleges that the employees misappropriated confidential information about hardware design, manufacturing, and supply-chain operations as they joined OpenAI’s device effort. Apple has separately presented forensic evidence from Liu’s MacBook that it says supports those allegations.
In a filing reported by Reuters, OpenAI denied that Apple had shown its confidential information was stolen and described the dispute as “a mess of Apple’s own making.” OpenAI said Apple encourages employees to use personal iCloud accounts for work documents, immediately escorts departing employees from its premises, and does not give them enough time to return equipment, transfer files, or hand over responsibilities.
Liu said any access to Apple documents after his departure was intended to help former colleagues find files or answer questions about Apple work. OpenAI also argued that Apple is using the case to discourage employees from joining a potential competitor.
The competing accounts have not been resolved. Apple’s evidence and OpenAI’s response are allegations in active litigation, not a final finding that either side violated the law. A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments on Apple’s request for an injunction on October 1.
The legal question may extend beyond what information was accessed or used. Trade-secret protection generally depends on a company taking reasonable steps to keep information confidential, so OpenAI’s attack on Apple’s internal procedures could become important even if the court finds that former employees handled sensitive material.
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