OpenAI has denied Apple’s claim that it took trade secrets from former employees of Apple who eventually joined the artificial intelligence company. Apple has failed to show that confidential information was misappropriated, OpenAI said in a new court filing.
OpenAI also blamed Apple’s own workplace and data-handling policies for some of the circumstances at the center of the dispute. Apple called the case a dispute created by Apple itself and said the lawsuit is restricting the movement of employees between technology companies.
The legal fight began after Apple sued OpenAI and two former employees in July on the grounds that they took confidential information about Apple's hardware business.
OpenAI rejects Apple's trade secret claims.
Apple says former employees took proprietary information after leaving the company and joining OpenAI. Apple’s lawsuit claims information related to hardware design and supply chain operations.
Apple has also alleged that OpenAI recruited former Apple employees to hire them and encouraged them to disclose confidential information while they were recruiting. With legal action, Apple wants to protect what it says is its trade secrets.
OpenAI has strongly denied these allegations.
In its latest filing in the US District Court in San Jose, OpenAI said Apple had not shown that any of its confidential information was stolen by former employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu. Apple's case does not establish that OpenAI possessed or used Apple's trade secrets, it said.
OpenAI has also previously said that it has no interest in getting or using other companies' trade secrets.
OpenAI Blames Apple’s Data Policies.
A big part of OpenAI’s defense is about how Apple handled company information.
OpenAI argues that Apple allowed or encouraged employees to use personal iCloud accounts for work. This left corporate information connected to personal accounts after employees had quit Apple, the AI company explained.
OpenAI also cited Apple’s handling of departing employees and how they gained access to company information. The company says these internal practices make it difficult for Apple to claim that any continued access automatically proves intentional theft.
The argument is important because trade secret law generally requires companies to take reasonable measures to protect information that they consider confidential. OpenAI is effectively arguing that Apple's own security and data policies weakened its claim that the information was properly protected.
OpenAI has thus framed the dispute not only as a case about former employees, but also a question about Apple's own information management practices.
Apple Presents Different Account Of Events
But Apple has made the case that confidential information was accessed and used improperly.
In another recent court filing, Apple alleged that former Apple engineer Chang Liu accessed a proprietary power-converter circuit schematic after joining OpenAI. Apple said that information was found during a forensic review of a MacBook provided by OpenAI as part of the legal process.
Apple also alleged that Liu used confidential information at OpenAI for simulation with an AI agent. The company has asked the court to speed up discovery as it assesses the case.
These claims are allegations and have not been proven as facts by a court.
OpenAI has asked the judge to dismiss Apple’s lawsuit, arguing that the hardware development that Apple does is in direct service of new products, and that Apple is trying to stifle competition and employee mobility through the legal battle.
Employee Movement at The Centre Of Dispute.
A technology worker’s movement from one company to another is also in question in this case.
OpenAI has hired hundreds of former Apple employees, according to the company’s court arguments. OpenAI says employees should generally be free to change jobs and that Apple cannot treat the movement of its former staff to a competitor as evidence of wrongdoing by itself.
Apple’s position is different. The company has argued that the problem is not just about employees changing jobs, but about confidential information allegedly being taken or accessed after those employees moved to OpenAI.
That distinction will probably be important as the case progresses.
Court Battle Could Shape Tech Industry Hiring
The dispute is happening as OpenAI expands beyond software and AI models to hardware. Apple is still one of the world’s largest consumer technology companies, so the allegations are particularly important to the technology sector.
As for employee access to confidential information as employees leave for competitors, this case could have implications for how companies handle employees’ access to confidential information.
But neither side has been proven in court. OpenAI is asking the court to reject Apple’s claims, and Apple is pressing its case and looking for evidence.
The legal battle is far from over. Apple will have to convince the court that protected trade secrets have been improperly taken or used and whether OpenAI or any company employed by OpenAI are to blame for the violation of them.
