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OpenAI fires back at Apple's trade secret lawsuit with chat logs showing Apple employees kept texting their former co...
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OpenAI has fired back at Apple's trade secret lawsuit by releasing chat logs that appear to show Apple employees themselves soliciting technical information from former colleague Chang Liu after he left the company. In a blog post, OpenAI accused Apple of taking a sloppy and unnecessarily aggressive approach to the dispute. The exchange marks the latest escalation in a legal battle that highlights intensifying competition for AI talent and hardware expertise.
Apple sued OpenAI in a California federal court, alleging that Liu improperly accessed confidential information after joining the startup and that OpenAI actively encouraged departing employees to steal files and specifications. The lawsuit is part of broader tensions between the two tech giants, with OpenAI's growing hardware ambitions centered on io Products, a venture co-founded by Apple's iconic former designer Jony Ive.
According to the published messages, Liu's last day at Apple was January 22, 2026. On that same day and in the following weeks, Apple employees repeatedly contacted him with technical questions and requests to help locate internal files. One January 27 message reads, "Of course, I could ask several folks, but you are the best," and Liu responded with details about internal Apple decisions. On February 14, another message asked about schematics, and on March 5, Liu was added to a group chat where he directed Apple employees to internal folders before asking to be removed, writing, "Hi, this is highly irregular, please remove me from this thread."
OpenAI argues that this demonstrates "residual access" is a well-known problem at Apple caused by poor access management. The complaint notes that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, making the case a potential flashpoint for industry-wide hiring practices. OpenAI also rejects allegations against Tang Tan, a former Apple executive with over 24 years at the company, saying he consistently told his team that proprietary information from other companies was neither welcome nor to be used.
Additionally, OpenAI revealed that Apple's outside lawyer confused two Asian last names and emailed the wrong person, then falsely claimed to have spoken with OpenAI's general counsel by phone. Apple acknowledged both errors only after OpenAI pointed them out, and the specific allegations in the lawsuit were never raised in that earlier correspondence. After five months of silence, Apple filed suit.
While the chat logs and email blunders make for compelling reading, they do not directly refute Apple's core accusation that OpenAI encouraged new hires to bring proprietary information with them. The discovery process will likely determine whether Apple's claims hold up. This case underscores the high stakes as AI companies compete fiercely for top talent, and legal experts will be watching closely to see how courts handle trade secret disputes involving employee chats and residual knowledge.
