OpenAI counters Apple's lawsuit with public evidence

OpenAI escalated its legal dispute with Apple by publicly releasing message logs and emails to challenge the iPhone maker's lawsuit alleging trade secret theft. In a blog post titled 'Apple is getting this wrong', OpenAI called Apple's claims 'careless, aggressive, and oddly personal', while presenting communications it says contradict Apple's version of events.

The lawsuit centers on former Apple employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan, who now hold key roles at OpenAI — Liu as a technical team member and Tan as chief hardware officer. Apple alleges they took confidential information about unreleased technologies, but OpenAI denies this, stating they have no interest in Apple's trade secrets and only want to build innovative products. OpenAI also claims Apple's request for a preliminary injunction is based on false information and points out that former employees often retain residual access to Apple systems due to poor access management.