Apple Urges Judge to Reject OpenAI Motion to Dismiss

Apple Inc. filed a 32-page rebuttal on Wednesday urging a federal judge to reject a motion to dismiss a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI. Apple alleges that OpenAI orchestrated a scheme to exfiltrate confidential product information by recruiting former Apple employees and tricking manufacturing partners into revealing proprietary process technology. The filing notes that over 400 former Apple employees now work at the AI company.

Specific allegations target former engineer Chang Liu, who Apple claims used an authentication bug to download confidential engineering files after joining OpenAI, and OpenAI hardware chief Tan Yew Tan. Apple accuses Tan of using internal project codenames and requesting that employees bring physical components, including batteries and logic boards, to OpenAI.

OpenAI has denied the claims, arguing that Apple failed to establish or define a protectable trade secret and suggesting that Apple's own security lapses allowed the leaks. OpenAI maintains it is building technology that is "entirely new and different." Apple rejected these arguments, stating that the merits of the dispute should be settled during discovery and trial, and refused to publish specific trade secrets in public filings to prevent further exposure. This litigation follows similar accusations of trade secret theft against OpenAI by xAI.