Open AI has publicly rejected Apple’s lawsuit accusing it of stealing trade secrets by posting iMessage chats and emails to counter the claims. Apple seeks a preliminary injunction to stop former employees and Open AI from accessing or sharing confidential information. Open AI argues Apple mishandled the situation and denies any use of Apple’s secrets, emphasizing its focus on innovation. The legal dispute highlights tensions over intellectual property between tech giants and could impact future AI developments.
In a Tuesday blog post, Open AI called Apple’s July complaint against it a “careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit.”
Open AI also said Apple had made mistakes when it earlier contacted the AI lab about its concerns, including “emailing the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names.”
Last month, Apple filed a suit against Open
AI, accusing it of stealing trade secrets using a “coordinated pattern of misconduct at an institutional level.” Apple said that a former employee who joined Open AI exploited an authentication bug, that Open AI asked Apple engineers to bring in proprietary hardware during job interviews, and that Open AI leadership “normalized” such conduct.
Open AI denied wrongdoing at the time and said that it was not interested in Apple’s trade secrets. Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment from Business Insider.
In Tuesday’s post, Open AI shared what it said were copies of email correspondence showing that Apple’s outside counsel mistakenly sent Open AI’s general counsel a follow-up that had been intended for a former Apple employee.
“Apple had claimed that they contacted Open AI in February and that we didn’t respond,” Open AI wrote in its blog post. “They now admit that their outside lawyers emailed the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names only after we brought this to their attention.”
Open AI added that “Apple also claimed they had a discussion with our General Counsel, which they now concede never happened.”
In its lawsuit, Apple alleged that Open AI benefited from confidential information taken by former Apple engineer Chang Liu and former design executive Tang Tan.
About the Author
Rebecca Ojoma Ogbole is a tech writer and researcher at techregard. Based in Nigeria, she has a background in English from Bayero University and a strong interest in how technology drives growth and access. She enjoys telling stories about technology, startups and innovation in ways that are clear, human and useful for readers across Africa and globally
