OpenAI Calls Apple's Trade Secrets Lawsuit 'Careless, Aggressive and Oddly Personal'

OpenAI has published its most detailed public response yet to Apple's trade secrets lawsuit filed last month, accusing the company of pursuing a "careless, aggressive and oddly personal" case while releasing iMessage conversations and emails it says undermine key allegations.



OpenAI says Apple's outside lawyers emailed the wrong person in February after confusing two Asian last names, then told OpenAI they were "resolving any issues" without raising the specific allegations that later appeared in the complaint. According to the company, it heard nothing further about those claims for five months before Apple filed suit. The post includes the underlying email correspondence showing the mix-up and an apology from Apple's counsel.


A focal point of the rebuttal is former Apple engineer Chang Liu. Apple previously alleged Liu exploited an authentication bug to access confidential network storage after leaving the company. OpenAI today published iMessage conversations it says show Apple employees repeatedly asking Liu for help locating files and technical information after his January 22 departure. The exchanges include Liu instructing a colleague to AirDrop files from his Apple iCloud folder. One exchange shows an Apple employee still asking Liu about internal files as late as March 5, with another participant in the thread calling the situation "highly irregular."

OpenAI argues the messages show Apple employees—not Liu—initiating requests for files and technical information after his departure, rather than Liu attempting to retain or misuse information. The company also contends Apple fails to properly revoke system access when people leave, leaving former employees with access they neither want nor are aware of.

The post also defends Tang Tan, Apple's former vice president of product design who now serves as OpenAI's chief hardware officer. "Tang has always been clear with the team that we do not want, and must not use, any confidential information from other companies," OpenAI wrote, adding that Tan spent more than 24 years at Apple and was widely regarded as one of its most innovative leaders.

OpenAI says it has taken the allegations seriously and offered to work with Apple to resolve them, but that Apple instead sent legal preservation letters to roughly 40 former Apple employees now at OpenAI and is pursuing a preliminary injunction the company calls "based on false information and completely unnecessary."


While not a formal court filing, the post represents OpenAI's most substantive public defense since Apple sued the company on July 10.