OpenAI has asked a U.S. court to dismiss Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit and denied stealing information tied to Apple’s hardware projects. Apple had accused OpenAI of obtaining confidential materials through current and former Apple employees. In a court filing, OpenAI said the allegations are “baseless” and “pretextual.”
According to foreign media reports, the filing is OpenAI’s first formal response to Apple’s lawsuit. OpenAI argued that Apple is trying to use litigation to restrict talent mobility while covering up its own problems in AI product integration and competition for talent.
OpenAI says Apple distorted employee conduct
OpenAI’s lawyers filed the response on Wednesday local time in federal court in California. The company said Apple’s complaint misrepresented the conduct of OpenAI employees and recast routine recruiting conversations and post-departure work handoffs as trade secret theft.
In the filing, OpenAI said Apple’s suit was “not preceded by an adequate investigation,” relied on selectively quoted communications, and took ordinary conduct out of context. It also said Apple should not use what it described as a “baseless” and “pretextual” lawsuit to make up for its own weaknesses in the talent market and in AI product development.
OpenAI also said Apple failed to specify what confidential information was actually stolen and incorrectly described how information was managed when Apple employees left the company. According to OpenAI, some departing Apple employees were assisting former colleagues with work transitions at Apple’s request, rather than obtaining trade secrets.
On supplier-related information, OpenAI pushed back as well. The company said some of the supposedly proprietary information cited in Apple’s complaint could be obtained through lawful or public channels and therefore did not meet the definition of a trade secret.
From partners to courtroom opponents
The lawsuit also reflects a shift in the relationship between Apple and OpenAI. The two companies had worked together for about two years, integrating ChatGPT-based AI features into iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. As OpenAI pushed ahead with its own hardware strategy, the relationship became more strained.
OpenAI previously acquired io Products, the studio founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, in a $6.4 billion deal. Apple said in its lawsuit that OpenAI had recruited heavily from Apple in recent years and that more than 400 former Apple employees have joined OpenAI.
OpenAI said that since io Products was founded, hundreds of Apple designers and engineers have left Apple to join its plan to build a new generation of devices for the AI era.
The Financial Times previously reported that OpenAI is developing a pocket-sized AI device without a screen that would use voice and visual information to sense its surroundings.
Apple filed the lawsuit in July. Just two years earlier, the companies had worked together to bring ChatGPT directly into Apple’s ecosystem. Apple then shifted in January this year to working with Google, using the Gemini model to support what was described as an “AI version of Siri.” Even so, ChatGPT integration remains available on Apple devices.
Two central allegations: Tang Tan and Chang Liu
Apple’s complaint focuses on OpenAI hardware chief Tang Tan and former Apple engineer Chang Liu.
Apple said Tang Tan asked job candidates about secret projects during recruiting and encouraged candidates to bring Apple prototype products to interviews.
OpenAI said Tang Tan’s conduct was consistent with standard recruiting practice in the tech industry. The company argued that asking about projects a candidate had worked on, components they had handled, and their engineering experience is a common part of hiring and does not amount to obtaining Apple’s confidential information.
On Chang Liu, Apple alleged that he accessed confidential files related to hardware projects in the weeks before and after joining OpenAI. Apple also said Liu had discovered an authentication flaw in Apple’s systems and used that flaw to obtain the materials.
OpenAI said Chang Liu did not actively steal files. Instead, it said, he was helping locate information needed for work after being asked by former Apple colleagues. OpenAI submitted portions of text messages to the court in an effort to show that Liu was responding to requests from former colleagues rather than seeking trade secrets.
OpenAI also turned its criticism toward Apple’s own data management. It said Apple had allowed employees to use personal iCloud accounts for work, creating overlap between corporate and personal data storage, and had failed to manage access permissions across multiple systems when employees left.
Apple seeks temporary restraining order
A day before OpenAI filed its response, Apple asked the court for a temporary restraining order requiring OpenAI to stop using what Apple says are stolen trade secrets and to return any materials containing Apple confidential information.
If granted, the order would remain in effect while the case proceeds. OpenAI must respond to Apple’s preliminary injunction request by Aug. 17, and the court is scheduled to hold a hearing on Oct. 1.
The case is Apple v. Liu, No. 5:26-cv-07078, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.
The judge assigned to the case is Edward Davila. He previously presided over other closely watched matters, including the criminal trial of former Theranos chief executive Elizabeth Holmes and her business partner Sunny Balwani from 2021 to 2022.