OpenAI says Apple has only itself to blame in trade-secret fight
OpenAI has formally denied Apple's allegations of trade secret theft, arguing that the lawsuit is a strategic move to stifle competition. OpenAI claims Apple's internal policies regarding personal device usage make it difficult to distinguish between personal and professional data.
Why it matters
This legal battle underscores the intensifying competition between major tech firms for AI talent and the evolving standards for intellectual property in the tech industry.
OpenAI denied Apple’s allegations of trade secret theft on Monday, saying the iPhone maker failed to show any confidential information was stolen by former employees.
“This dispute is a mess of Apple’s own making, and it is trying to blame everyone else,” OpenAI said in a filing late Monday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California.
Apple sued OpenAI and former Apple employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu in July, accusing them of misappropriating trade secrets related to hardware design, manufacturing and supply-chain operations as the ChatGPT maker pushes into consumer devices.
The AI lab, led by CEO Sam Altman, contends Apple is using the lawsuit to slow a potential competitor and discourage employee departures. OpenAI has hired roughly 400 employees from Apple for its hardware initiative, the two companies have written in court filings.
California law allows employees to freely move between rivals, OpenAI said.
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