OpenAI Posts Public Rebuttal to Apple's Trade Secrets Lawsuit

Apple has asked a federal judge for a preliminary injunction against OpenAI as its trade secrets lawsuit escalates, and OpenAI responded hours later with a detailed public rebuttal that includes internal messages and legal correspondence. Reuters reports that Apple yesterday filed a motion seeking to bar OpenAI and two former employees, Chang Liu and Tang Tan, from accessing, using, or disclosing its alleged confidential information, along with a request for expedited discovery. "Apple will be irreparably harmed absent a preliminary injunction," the company said in its filing. Apple originally sued OpenAI on July 10, alleging that former Apple engineer Liu and former Apple design executive Tan ran a scheme to funnel confidential product information to OpenAI's hardware business. OpenAI has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying it has "no interest in other companies' trade secrets." Late on Monday evening, OpenAI published a blog post titled "Apple is getting this wrong," calling the lawsuit "careless, aggressive and oddly personal." The company disputes Apple's account of its pre-litigation contact, saying Apple's outside counsel emailed the wrong person in February after confusing two Asian last names, and published the underlying email chain showing the mix-up, along with an apology from Apple's counsel. OpenAI says it heard nothing further about the specific allegations for five months before Apple filed suit. OpenAI published iMessage exchanges it says show Apple employees repeatedly asking Liu for help locating files and technical information after his January 22 departure, including directing a colleague to AirDrop files from his Apple-linked iCloud account. The same messages show an Apple employee still asking Liu about internal files as late as March 5, with another participant in the thread calling the exchange "highly irregular." OpenAI also defended Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple before joining io Products, the hardware startup he co-founded with Jony Ive, which merged with OpenAI in July 2025. "Tang has always been clear with the team that we do not want, and must not use, any confidential information from other companies," OpenAI said. Apple's complaint claims more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI. A hearing on Apple's injunction request has not yet been scheduled. Popular StoriesAirPods Max Condensation Lawsuit Largely Dismissed by NY JudgeA federal judge has thrown out most of the claims in a proposed class action accusing Apple's AirPods Max of a condensation defect, ruling that the $549 headphones do what they were built for even if they fall short of a buyer's expectations (via Law360). Filed in April 2025 by two plaintiffs, the suit alleges that condensation builds up inside the AirPods Max ear cups during normal indoor...'Siri AI' Lawsuit Update: Apple to Pay Owners of These iPhone ModelsIn May, Apple agreed to pay $250 million to settle a U.S. class action lawsuit over Siri AI's delayed launch, and eligible iPhone users could receive up to a $95 payout. This week, the California court overseeing the case held a hearing regarding preliminary approval of the settlement, but the judge has not yet issued a ruling. It will likely be at least a few more months before eligible...Apple Sues OpenAI for Stealing Trade Secrets to Build AI HardwareFriday July 10, 2026 1:30 pm PDT by Juli CloverApple today accused OpenAI of stealing Apple trade secrets and intellectual property in its effort to develop an AI hardware device. In a lawsuit filed with the Northern District of California, Apple said it uncovered evidence of a months-long scheme to steal confidential information. Apple says OpenAI hardware lead and former Apple designer Tang Tan and former electrical engineer Chang Liu...