OpenAI Seeks Dismissal of Apple Trade Secret Lawsuit
Taylor Wilson
OpenAI filed to dismiss Apple's trade-secret theft suit in a California federal court, calling it groundless — arguing Apple is using litigation to compensate for losing the AI talent war. An October hearing will set the case's trajectory.
What exactly is Apple alleging?
Apple sued in July, claiming OpenAI stole secret hardware-project information by recruiting former Apple employees.
Two people were named: OpenAI chief hardware officer Tang Tan, accused of extracting confidential project details during interviews and asking candidates to bring Apple prototypes; and former Apple engineer Chang Liu, accused of pulling classified files from Apple's systems before and after joining OpenAI.
This means → Apple's target is not the technology itself but the flow of people — and the information that travels with them.
How does OpenAI push back?
On Tang Tan: OpenAI says Apple failed to identify any specific secret obtained. Interview questions covered candidates' experience with Apple components — "background information any employer might ask."
On Chang Liu: OpenAI says his access to Apple's systems was authorized by Apple itself. Apple "rushed him out the door" after he gave notice, then asked him to help former colleagues retrieve work files. OpenAI released supporting text messages.
OpenAI also argues Apple routinely encouraged staff to use personal iCloud accounts for work, mixing corporate and personal data, and failed to manage system access upon departure. In plain terms = OpenAI's core counterattack: the gaps are Apple's own management failures, not theft.
What is the bigger fight behind this?
OpenAI invokes California law, which actively encourages employee mobility as a driver of the tech industry.
According to Apple's own complaint, OpenAI has hired more than 400 former Apple employees.
OpenAI also acquired io Products — the studio founded by former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive — for $6.4 billion, and is developing a screenless, environment-aware handheld AI device.
This means → The lawsuit's real substrate is direct competition between Apple and OpenAI on the AI-hardware track. The legal battle is an extension of the commercial one.
What happens next?
Apple filed for an injunction on Tuesday, seeking to bar OpenAI from using the allegedly stolen trade secrets and to compel return of the information.
OpenAI must respond to the injunction request by August 17; the hearing is set for October 1.
The presiding judge, Edward Davila, previously oversaw the criminal trial of Theranos former CEO Elizabeth Holmes.
In plain terms = The October hearing is the first decisive checkpoint: if the injunction is granted, OpenAI's use of the named personnel and information in AI hardware R&D will be directly constrained, disrupting its competitive tempo.
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