OpenAI Dumps Apple Workers' Textual content Messages to Combat Commerce Secret Go well with – Decrypt

OpenAI has publicly challenged Apple’s commerce secrets and techniques lawsuit, publishing emails, textual content messages, and a point-by-point rebuttal that accuses the iPhone maker of creating factual errors earlier than submitting its criticism.

In a weblog submit printed Monday, OpenAI stated Apple confused two staff with related names, falsely claimed the corporate ignored its outreach, and incorrectly asserted that Apple’s outdoors counsel had spoken with OpenAI Normal Counsel Che Chang earlier than submitting a lawsuit towards OpenAI.

The e-mail and textual content dump comes after Apple sued OpenAI in July, accusing the corporate, former Apple engineer Chang Liu, former Apple design government Tang Tan, and io Merchandise of misappropriating {hardware} commerce secrets and techniques as OpenAI expanded its client {hardware} efforts following its acquisition of Jony Ive’s startup in 2025.

“Apple is among the biggest corporations of all time, and constructed a repute for obsessing over the smallest particulars,” OpenAI wrote. “This careless, aggressive and oddly private lawsuit sadly doesn’t stay as much as that repute.”

In its lawsuit, Apple accuses former Apple engineer Chang Liu of retaining an organization laptop computer after leaving, exploiting an authentication bug to entry Apple’s inside methods, and downloading confidential engineering paperwork. The lawsuit additionally claims former Apple government Tang Tan used confidential Apple data to learn OpenAI’s {hardware} efforts and that the corporate’s recruiting course of inspired potential hires to convey delicate Apple supplies.

OpenAI disputes these allegations, saying Apple contacted the flawed particular person after complicated two staff with related surnames and incorrectly claimed its legal professionals had spoken with OpenAI Normal Counsel Che Chang earlier than submitting go well with.

To help its case, OpenAI printed iMessage exchanges between Liu and Apple staff despatched after he left the corporate in January, exhibiting them asking for assist finding recordsdata, transferring paperwork, and answering technical questions—conversations OpenAI says undermine Apple’s claims that Liu improperly retained entry to confidential data.

In keeping with OpenAI, these exchanges present Apple staff relied on Liu’s entry and that any remaining entry resulted from Apple’s personal offboarding course of reasonably than deliberate misconduct.

As for Tan, OpenAI says the previous Apple government was repeatedly instructed to not convey or use confidential data from his earlier employer. The corporate additionally argues Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction, which might limit OpenAI’s actions whereas the case proceeds, is pointless.

“Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction is each primarily based on false data and utterly pointless as a result of we do not need, nor need, any of their commerce secrets and techniques,” the corporate wrote. “We’re way more involved in constructing progressive merchandise and applied sciences that push the frontier.”