The legal clash between tech giants Apple and OpenAI is getting increasingly personal. After Apple filed a lawsuit last month accusing the ChatGPT creator of stealing hardware trade secrets, OpenAI has taken the fight directly to the public, publishing internal emails and text logs to counter Apple’s claims.
Former key engineers at the center of the dispute
Apple’s lawsuit centers on two former high-profile employees who left Cupertino to join OpenAI’s expanding hardware division: former iPhone engineer Chang Liu and Tang Tan, Apple’s former vice president of iPhone and Apple Watch design who now serves as OpenAI’s chief hardware officer.
Apple claims that Liu downloaded confidential files from Apple’s storage system. Then he allegedly instructed a colleague on how to do so while avoiding security detection. Plus, Apple claims Tan asked job candidates to showcase unreleased Apple components during interviews. Seeking to halt any hardware development using these secrets, Apple filed a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent Liu, Tan, and OpenAI from accessing or disclosing any confidential information while the lawsuit moves ahead.
OpenAI shares receipts to poke holes in Apple’s story
OpenAI did not keep its arguments strictly inside a courtroom. Instead, the company fired back with a blog post titled “Apple is getting this wrong.” Describing the lawsuit as “careless, aggressive, and oddly personal,” OpenAI published a series of email exchanges and iMessages to challenge Apple’s account of events.
OpenAI addressed allegations that Liu illegally accessed Apple cloud files after resigning. They released text messages showing that current Apple employees actually reached out to Liu asking for his help to locate files. The company argued that any lingering file access stemmed from “residual access” caused by Apple failing to properly manage system permissions when employees leave, adding that “former employees who are trying to do the right thing when they leave still have access to Apple files—despite not wanting them or even being aware of them.”
Regarding Tan, OpenAI defended his integrity, stating that he “has always been clear with the team that we do not want, and must not use, any confidential information from other companies.”
Apple’s bizarre mistake, according to OpenAI
OpenAI also exposed a notable administrative mistake. The AI lab revealed Apple’s outside lawyers initially “emailed the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names” when trying to contact OpenAI in February.
Calling Apple’s preliminary injunction “both based on false information and completely unnecessary,” OpenAI maintained that it has zero interest in proprietary Apple designs, focusing instead on “building innovative products and technologies that push the frontier.” As both tech giants build out their hardware ambitions, this public airing of receipts sets the stage for a dramatic court battle.
The post OpenAI Fires Back at Trade Secret Claims: “Apple Is Getting This Wrong” appeared first on Android Headlines.
