OpenAI challenges Apple trade-secrets lawsuit over security practices
OpenAI has asked a court to dismiss Apple’s trade-secrets lawsuit, arguing that Apple’s own security and employee-offboarding practices weaken the assertion that the disputed hardware information qualified as legally protected trade secrets. Apple filed its complaint in July and alleged that OpenAI orchestrated a scheme to obtain confidential hardware information from former Apple engineers.
Apple has also asked the court to expedite discovery. The company says its internal investigation indicates that additional former employees may have participated in, or witnessed, the alleged theft of trade secrets.
OpenAI focuses on Apple’s access controls
Rather than centring its motion on whether former Apple employees accessed particular information, OpenAI argues that Apple allowed staff to use personal iCloud accounts for work and did not properly revoke access after employees departed. Its filing characterises those practices as creating confusion and unwanted access issues that Apple now describes as theft.
OpenAI submitted text-message records involving defendant and former Apple engineer Chang Liu. The records indicate that an Apple manager remained logged into Liu’s personal iCloud account after he left, used it to transfer files, and later asked him for assistance with technical questions relating to Apple projects.
The motion seeks to frame the alleged conduct as former employees attempting to help former colleagues, while contesting whether information was handled with the safeguards expected of trade secrets. The dispute follows Apple trade-secrets lawsuit against OpenAI as Apple’s claims over confidential hardware information proceed through the court process.
Specificity is central to the dismissal request
OpenAI also contends that Apple has not identified the particular trade secrets or confidential components that were allegedly taken. Instead, it says the complaint refers to broad product-development categories, including component manufacturing, product testing, vendor and supplier relationships, and distribution channels.
In its motion, OpenAI says it has no use, need or desire for Apple’s trade secrets and is building something different from Apple’s work. It argues that Apple is using the litigation to slow a competitor’s development of AI-powered hardware, while Apple contests alleged misuse by former employees.
Business implication
For businesses handling sensitive product information, the case illustrates why account ownership, access revocation, file-transfer controls and precise records of protected material must remain consistent when employees leave.