The ongoing legal battle between Apple and OpenAI escalated dramatically following a new filing by Apple in a California federal court. Apple expanded on its trade secret theft allegations by claiming that even more former employees may have transferred confidential hardware data to OpenAI before jumping ship, based on an internal investigation revealed.
The original complaint, filed on July 10, accused OpenAI, its hardware arm iO Products, and two former senior Apple employees – former Vice President of Hardware Engineering Tang Yew Tan and senior system electrical engineer Chang Liu – of conspiring to leak confidential hardware technology. Apple claimed that Liu exploited a software bug to breach internal network folders and retain a corporate laptop containing sensitive files, while Tan allegedly used his executive position and recruitment interviews as “fishing trips” to extract proprietary product roadmaps and supplier details.
Now, in its newest filing, Apple claims its ongoing internal forensic investigation has uncovered evidence that the data leak is far wider than originally believed.
Apple claims more data leak in lawsuit
In the new court filing, Apple requested a ‘preliminary injunction’ and ‘expedited discovery’ against OpenAI and several former Apple personnel. The company asked the judge to prevent OpenAI and former staff from accessing, using, or disclosing alleged trade secrets while the lawsuit proceeds.
Apple’s original complaint focused primarily on two of OpenAI’s high-profile hires –
– Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer.
– Tang Yew Tan, a former Vice President of Hardware Engineering.
Apple now claims its internal probe identified at least 11 additional former employees who may have been involved in or witnessed the unauthorised transfer of proprietary material regarding unannounced AI hardware and consumer devices.
What more does Apple accuse OpenAI of
– Apple alleges another former staffer met with Liu prior to an interview at OpenAI to discuss “proprietary information relating to unannounced products.”
– The filing states that “yet another former Apple employee took screenshots of confidential Apple documents relating to an unannounced Apple product before an interview at OpenAI.”
– Apple noted that multiple former employees, now working at OpenAI, reached out to discuss returning Apple-issued work devices they kept after leaving the company.
OpenAI denies the “Oddly Personal” claims
OpenAI responded publicly, and rather aggressively, to Apple’s motion, issuing a public blog post titled “Apple is getting this wrong”. The blog shared the internal text message receipts and email history to challenge Apple’s narrative in the court of public opinion.
In its statement, the AI startup wrote, “Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction is both based on false information and completely unnecessary because we do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets.”
The company went on to criticise Apple’s stand directly, framing the legal action as a “careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit” that falls far short of Apple’s long-held reputation as “one of the greatest companies of all time.”
To counter Apple’s allegations of former employees engaged in organised data theft upon quitting, OpenAI published message exchanges showing former Apple engineers being contacted by current Apple staff asking for assistance in locating internal files post-departure. OpenAI argued that the dispute is rooted in Apple’s own disorganised file management and exit procedures, rather than a covert corporate espionage campaign.