OpenAI Fires Back at Apple's Trade-Secrets Lawsuit With Emails and Text Messages
Apple says two former employees stole confidential information on their way out. OpenAI says the allegations are false, and it published the messages to prove it.
Key points
- Apple sued OpenAI last month, alleging two former Apple employees brought confidential trade secrets with them when they joined the company.
- OpenAI responded publicly this week with a blog post titled "Apple is getting this wrong," publishing private emails and iMessages to dispute the claims.
- Apple has asked a judge for a preliminary injunction, a court order that would stop the named individuals and OpenAI from using any alleged confidential information while the case continues.
- OpenAI says Apple's outside lawyers initially emailed the wrong person, mixing up two Asian last names, before any real discussion with OpenAI's legal team took place.
Apple and OpenAI are now fighting this one in public as well as in court.
The dispute centres on two former Apple engineers. Chang Liu worked on iPhone hardware and now sits on OpenAI's technical team. Tang Tan spent 25 years at Apple, where he oversaw the design of the iPhone and Apple Watch, before becoming OpenAI's chief hardware officer. Apple's lawsuit, filed last month, claims both men took "secret and confidential information regarding unreleased technologies, processes, and products" to OpenAI.
On Monday Apple escalated matters, asking a judge for a preliminary injunction to stop Liu, Tan and OpenAI from using or sharing any of that alleged information while the case plays out.
OpenAI's response is not a legal filing. It is a blog post, and a pointed one. "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," the company wrote.
What exactly does Apple accuse them of?
Apple's core claims are specific. Liu, it alleges, kept a company-owned computer after leaving, used a security loophole to access Apple's internal cloud storage weeks after his departure, downloaded confidential files, and then coached a colleague on how to do the same thing while avoiding Apple's security team.
For Tan, Apple alleges he asked job candidates interviewing for OpenAI positions to show him confidential Apple components they had worked on.
Those are serious charges. If proved, they would represent a textbook case of corporate espionage.
What does OpenAI say happened?
OpenAI's version is sharply different on every point.
On Liu's continued access to Apple's systems, OpenAI says Apple's own employees contacted Liu after he left and asked him to help locate files. The access, OpenAI argues, existed because Apple routinely fails to switch off system permissions when staff depart, leaving former employees able to reach internal files even when they have no intention of doing so.
On Tan's interview conduct, the company says he has consistently told his team that confidential material from previous employers must never be brought in.
OpenAI also published email chains showing that Apple's outside lawyers initially contacted the wrong person at OpenAI, confusing two Asian surnames, and never actually reached OpenAI's general counsel before the lawsuit was filed. First reported by The Verge AI, the blog post includes those emails alongside the iMessages between Liu and an Apple employee.
What does this mean for ordinary people?
For most people this dispute is background noise, but it matters for anyone who follows AI hardware. OpenAI has been open about building its own devices, and a successful injunction could slow that work by tying up its hardware leadership in litigation.
For employees anywhere: if you leave a job, check that your old employer has removed your access to internal systems. If it has not, tell them. Keeping access you no longer need, even accidentally, can land you in a dispute like this one.
