OpenAI Hits Back at Apple's Trade Secret Lawsuit With Public Blog Post

OpenAI has responded to Apple's trade secret lawsuit by publishing a public blog post that contests the company's allegations, marking an escalation of the dispute into media and public scrutiny rather than through traditional legal channels alone.

In the post titled "Apple is getting this wrong," OpenAI characterized Apple's claims as "careless, aggressive, and oddly personal," and released iMessages and email exchanges it says undermine Apple's core arguments. The move appears designed to shape public perception while the legal battle proceeds.

The Core Dispute#

Apple's lawsuit centers on two former employees: Chang Liu, a former iPhone engineer now at OpenAI, and Tang Tan, who spent 25 years at Apple overseeing hardware design for the iPhone and Apple Watch before becoming OpenAI's chief hardware officer. Apple contends that both individuals took proprietary data about unreleased products and technologies to support OpenAI's hardware initiatives.

According to Reuters, Apple recently sought a preliminary injunction to bar Liu, Tan, and OpenAI from accessing or using any confidential information during litigation.

OpenAI's Defense#

OpenAI denied Apple's core claims, stating that the company "do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets" and remains focused on developing original products rather than relying on Apple's confidential materials.

On the specific accusations:

• Liu's computer access: Apple charged that Liu failed to return an Apple-owned laptop and exploited a security flaw to access Apple's cloud storage after departing. OpenAI countered that Apple employees actually requested Liu's assistance in retrieving information, and that the residual access Liu retained resulted from Apple's own system management failures—a recurrent problem affecting departing employees.

• Tan's hiring practices: Apple alleged Tan solicited confidential information from Apple workers during job interviews for OpenAI positions. OpenAI responded that Tan has consistently instructed the team not to use any confidential data from other companies and made clear these restrictions to interviewees.

• Communications breakdown: Apple claimed OpenAI ignored initial inquiries about the matter. OpenAI revealed that Apple's outside counsel sent emails to the wrong person due to , and never contacted OpenAI's General Counsel, rendering a proper discussion impossible.