Summary
- OpenAI has issued a comprehensive defense against Apple's trade secrets lawsuit.
- The organization claims Apple misrepresented critical facts and has shared emails to substantiate its position.
- OpenAI contends that Apple employees continued to seek assistance from a former engineer even after he left the company.
OpenAI has taken a strong stance against Apple's trade secrets lawsuit by releasing emails, text messages, and a detailed rebuttal that accuses Apple of presenting incorrect information prior to filing the lawsuit.
In a blog post released on Monday, OpenAI stated that Apple mixed up two employees with similar names, falsely asserted that OpenAI disregarded their communications, and incorrectly indicated that Apple's external legal counsel had consulted with OpenAI's General Counsel, Che Chang, before the lawsuit was initiated.
This release of correspondence follows Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI in July, where it accused the company, along with former Apple engineer Chang Liu, ex-Apple design executive Tang Tan, and io Products, of unlawfully acquiring hardware trade secrets as OpenAI expanded its consumer hardware initiatives after acquiring Jony Ive's startup in 2025.
“Apple is one of the greatest companies of all time, and built a reputation for obsessing over the smallest details,” OpenAI stated. “This careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn’t live up to that reputation.”
In its legal action, Apple claims that Chang Liu retained a company laptop post-employment, exploited a security vulnerability to gain access to Apple's internal systems, and downloaded confidential engineering documents. The lawsuit further alleges that Tang Tan used proprietary Apple information to assist OpenAI's hardware projects and that the recruitment process at OpenAI encouraged applicants to bring sensitive Apple materials.
OpenAI refutes these claims, asserting that Apple mistakenly contacted the wrong individual due to the confusion between two employees with similar last names and incorrectly claimed that its attorneys had previously spoken to OpenAI's General Counsel Che Chang before filing the suit.
To bolster its argument, OpenAI has shared iMessage conversations between Liu and Apple employees after his departure in January, illustrating that they sought his assistance in finding files, transferring documents, and resolving technical queries—interactions that OpenAI argues contradict Apple's accusations of Liu improperly retaining confidential information.
OpenAI contends that these exchanges indicate that Apple relied on Liu's access and that any remaining access was a result of Apple's own offboarding procedures rather than any intentional wrongdoing.
Regarding Tan, OpenAI asserts that the former Apple executive was explicitly instructed not to use or bring along any confidential information from Apple. The company also claims that Apple's request for a preliminary injunction to limit OpenAI's operations during the lawsuit is unwarranted.
“Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction is both based on false information and completely unnecessary because we do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets,” OpenAI stated. “We’re much more interested in building innovative products and technologies that push the frontier.”