Apple and OpenAI have entered one of the most sensitive legal confrontations in the tech sector, after the iPhone maker accused the developer of ChatGPT of misappropriating trade secrets and confidential information related to unannounced products and technologies. The case did not stop at OpenAI, as it also involved former Apple employees who moved to work for the artificial intelligence company. Let us take you on a quick tour to learn the full details and the latest developments in Apple’s legal dispute against OpenAI.
How did the case begin?
The roots of the dispute go back to the lawsuit filed by Apple in July, which targeted OpenAI along with Tang Tan and Zhang Liu. Apple accused the aforementioned parties of engaging in illegal conduct to access its private information, and also stated that OpenAI asked questions about details of secret projects during job interviews.
Tan, who became head of hardware at OpenAI after a 24-year career at Apple, was among them, including the vice president of design responsible for products such as the iPhone and the Apple Watch, accused of systematically using Apple’s confidential information for the benefit of OpenAI.
As for Liu, who worked as a systems engineer at Apple, the company accuses him of not returning his work laptop after moving to OpenAI, and using it to download confidential technical documents.
The case also includes the company io Products, which Tan co-founded with former Apple design chief Jony Ive, and which was acquired by OpenAI in 2025 for $6.5 billion. However, Ive himself is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Apple believes that what it has discovered so far is only the tip of the iceberg (what has been revealed is only a small part of the problem), because it does not have a complete view of what is happening inside OpenAI behind closed doors. In contrast, OpenAI asserts that it does not care about other companies’ secrets, and that its focus is on developing innovative technologies that serve users around the world.
OpenAI denies the accusations
This August, OpenAI entered the confrontation more clearly. In a post published by the company on August 3 titled “Apple is wrong about this,” it said that Apple did not raise these accusations when its lawyers contacted the company earlier in the year.
OpenAI went further, explaining that Apple employees contacted Zhang Liu, a former Apple employee who currently works for OpenAI, to get help accessing some documents, not the other way around. The company published screenshots of iMessage conversations that it said supported its account.
OpenAI also defended Tang Tan, its head of hardware, who spent 24 years at Apple, confirming that he was clear with his team about not using any confidential information belonging to other companies.
Apple expands the circle of accusations
The next day, August 4, Apple filed a request to expedite the evidence discovery process in the case, saying its investigations revealed the potential involvement of other employees in the incidents in dispute. The company pointed to more specific examples, including a former employee who met Liu and another employee before her job interview at OpenAI, and spoke with them about proprietary Apple information related to unannounced products.
It also accused another former employee of taking photos of screens containing confidential documents belonging to an unannounced product before an interview at OpenAI. Apple also said that former employees currently working for the ChatGPT developer communicated about returning work devices they received from Apple and kept after leaving the company.
Finally, as the two companies prepare for a legal round that could last for years, it seems the case has gone beyond a mere disagreement between two companies. It has become a confrontation over the boundaries of corporate secrets, employee mobility, and the information that can accompany them when moving to a competitor at the heart of the AI and hardware race.
Do you think that the movement of major company employees to competitors could threaten their trade secrets? Tell us your opinion in the comments!
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