OpenAI2026-08-06 09:04:25OpenAI asks court to dismiss Apple trade secrets suit over hardware project claimsOpenAI has asked a U.S. federal court in California to throw out Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit, calling the allegations baseless and arguing that Apple is mischaracterizing ordinary recruiting and offboarding activity as theft of confidential hardware information. The filing marks OpenAI’s first formal response to the case, which Apple brought in July. Apple alleges that OpenAI obtained secret hardware project materials through current and former Apple employees as OpenAI advances its own AI hardware plans. OpenAI says Apple failed to identify what specific trade secrets were stolen, relied on selectively quoted communications, and distorted how departing employees handled work transitions. It also argues that some supplier-related information cited in the complaint was available through lawful or public channels. The dispute comes as the relationship between the two companies has shifted from partnership to litigation. They had worked together for about two years to bring ChatGPT-based features to iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, but tensions rose as OpenAI moved deeper into hardware, including its $6.4 billion acquisition of Jony Ive’s io Products studio. Apple has also sought a temporary restraining order. OpenAI must respond to Apple’s preliminary injunction request by Aug. 17, and a hearing is scheduled for Oct. 1.2210
OpenAI2026-08-05 09:03:24OpenAI pushes back on Apple trade secret lawsuit, says key claims are falseOpenAI has publicly challenged Apple’s trade secret lawsuit, arguing that the case rests on factual errors rather than evidence of wrongdoing. In its response, OpenAI said Apple’s outside counsel mixed up two Asian surnames, sent an email to the wrong person, and later inaccurately claimed to have spoken by phone with OpenAI’s general counsel. OpenAI said Apple has since admitted that no such call took place. The company also disputed Apple’s claims involving former employee Chang Liu, saying Apple staff themselves reached out to him after his departure and asked him to help locate files and information. OpenAI said Apple is now trying to blame so-called residual access permissions without acknowledging broader failures in its offboarding controls. On Tang Tan, OpenAI said he had clearly told his team they did not want and could not use any confidential information from other companies. OpenAI said it took the allegations seriously and offered to work with Apple before litigation escalated, but Apple chose to sue instead. The company added that Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction is both unnecessary and based on false information, because OpenAI neither has nor wants Apple’s trade secrets.1850
OpenAI2026-08-04 21:46:03OpenAI publishes emails and texts to dispute Apple trade secrets lawsuitOpenAI has pushed back publicly against Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit, releasing emails, text messages, and a detailed rebuttal that it says exposes factual mistakes in Apple’s complaint. In a blog post published Monday, OpenAI said Apple confused two employees with similar names, wrongly claimed the company had ignored outreach, and inaccurately stated that Apple’s outside counsel had spoken with OpenAI General Counsel Che Chang before the lawsuit was filed. The dispute follows Apple’s July lawsuit against OpenAI, former Apple engineer Chang Liu, former Apple design executive Tang Tan, and io Products over alleged misappropriation of hardware trade secrets tied to OpenAI’s consumer hardware work after its 2025 acquisition of Jony Ive’s startup. OpenAI also released iMessage exchanges involving Liu after his January departure from Apple, saying the messages show Apple employees continued to ask him for help finding files, transferring documents, and answering technical questions. The company argues those records undercut Apple’s claims and show that any remaining access stemmed from Apple’s own offboarding process, not intentional misconduct. OpenAI separately said Tan had been repeatedly told not to bring or use confidential information from his former employer and called Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction unnecessary and based on false information.1920
OpenAI2026-08-04 06:49:38OpenAI says Apple lawsuit contains factual errors and targets individualsOpenAI issued a public statement on Aug. 3 in response to Apple’s earlier lawsuit, sharply disputing the company’s claims and the conduct surrounding the case. OpenAI described Apple’s filing as “careless, aggressive, and personally targeted,” and said the complaint rests on multiple factual errors. According to OpenAI, Apple’s outside counsel mistakenly sent an email intended for someone else to OpenAI’s head of legal, then falsely claimed in that email that the two sides had already spoken by phone. OpenAI said Apple later acknowledged the mistake and attributed it to confusion between two Asian surnames. OpenAI also said that after contacting the company in February, Apple indicated it was “working to resolve any issues,” then did not communicate again for five months before filing suit. On allegations involving former Apple employee Chang Liu, OpenAI said iMessage records show former Apple colleagues reached out to him after his departure for help locating files and acknowledged that the issue was a common result of poor offboarding access controls at Apple. OpenAI also defended executive Tang Tan, saying the longtime former Apple employee had clearly instructed his team not to use confidential information from other companies. OpenAI added that it had offered to cooperate, while Apple instead sought a preliminary injunction that OpenAI called unnecessary and based on false information.1880
Apple2026-07-13 08:10:34Apple sues OpenAI over alleged poaching and trade secret theft tied to AI hardware pushApple has sued OpenAI and several former Apple employees in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing them of orchestrating a long-running effort to obtain Apple trade secrets for consumer AI hardware development. According to Apple’s complaint, more than 400 former Apple employees have joined OpenAI since the company began its hardware project. Named figures include former iPhone product executive and now OpenAI chief hardware officer Tang Tan, as well as former Apple engineer Chang Liu. Apple says the case goes beyond normal employee mobility. The complaint alleges that Tang Tan discussed supply chain matters before leaving Apple, sent himself internal supplier and industry information, and later sought unpublished product details from Apple employees during recruiting. Apple also claims OpenAI asked candidates to share product designs, CAD files, prototypes, supplier workflows, and system integration tools, while offering advice on how to avoid detection by Apple’s security team. OpenAI said it has “no interest in other companies’ trade secrets” and remains focused on building innovative AI technology. The allegations have not been tested in court. The lawsuit arrives as OpenAI steps up its hardware plans, following its roughly $6.5 billion all-stock acquisition last year of io Products, founded by Tang Tan and former Apple design chief Jony Ive.1870
