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OpenAI asks court to dismiss lawsuit brought by Apple over theft of trade secrets

confirmed by 2 independent sources updated August 6, 2026

OpenAI filed a motion in federal court to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Apple over theft of trade secrets; it argues that the information is general product development information and that Apple did not adequately protect it. This follows the earlier release of chats showing that employees at Apple themselves contacted a former…

OpenAI filed a motion to dismiss in federal court on 6 August 2026 in response to a lawsuit filed by Apple in July 2026 over alleged theft of trade secrets. According to OpenAI, the lawsuit is “rotten at its core” (according to OpenAI) – the company argues that the information Apple identifies as trade secrets is actually general knowledge about product development, and that Apple did not specify any reasonable measures it had taken to protect this data.

The motion to dismiss follows an earlier move by OpenAI on 4 August 2026, when the company released chat messages between former Apple employee Chang Liu and his former colleagues at Apple as part of its defense. According to OpenAI, the messages show that it was employees at Apple themselves who repeatedly reached out with technical questions after Liu left (his last day was 22 January 2026) – on 27 January they requested a technical assessment, on 14 February they asked about schematics, and on 5 March Liu was added to a group chat, where he directed employees to internal folders and contacts before asking to be removed from the conversation. OpenAI describes this as evidence of a problem at Apple with managing access after employees leave.

In the original lawsuit, Apple alleges that former engineer Chang Liu accessed confidential information without authorization after moving to OpenAI and that OpenAI actively encouraged departing employees to steal files and specifications during their notice periods. The dispute also includes a claim that more than 400 former employees of Apple now work at OpenAI, and the case overlaps with the hardware ambitions of OpenAI surrounding io Products, a startup co-founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive. According to its statements, OpenAI also rejects the allegations against manager Tang Tan and points out that lawyers for Apple confused names during earlier communications and contacted the wrong person, which Apple confirmed only after OpenAI brought it to its attention.

What changed

Why it matters

For companies, this is a reminder that in a trade secrets dispute, they must be able to demonstrate specific protective measures and proper management of access after employees leave – otherwise, as in this case, they risk their own negligence weakening their lawsuit. The outcome of the dispute may also influence how strictly companies in the AI industry assess hiring employees from competitors and their contact with former colleagues after leaving.

What was added since the original report

Verified updates

  1. New verified information

    OpenAI filed a motion to dismiss in federal court; OpenAI argues that the data is generic information about product development, not trade secrets; OpenAI claims that Apple did not specify reasonable measures to protect the secrets; The motion was filed as a legal response to the July lawsuit brought by Apple; The legal dispute is expanding to broader questions of employee mobility and intellectual property protection in AI

    • OpenAI filed a motion to dismiss in federal court
    • OpenAI argues that the data is generic information about product development, not trade secrets
    • OpenAI claims that Apple did not specify reasonable measures to protect the secrets
    • The motion was filed as a legal response to the July lawsuit brought by Apple
    • The legal dispute is expanding to broader questions of employee mobility and intellectual property protection in AI
  2. New verified information

    OpenAI released chat logs as a legal response in the lawsuit; The chat logs allegedly prove that employees at Apple themselves contacted Liu with technical questions; More than 400 former employees of Apple work at OpenAI; Liu left Apple on 22 January 2026; OpenAI counters the original allegation by Apple with specific evidence from communications

    • OpenAI released chat logs as a legal response in the lawsuit
    • The chat logs allegedly prove that employees at Apple themselves contacted Liu with technical questions
    • More than 400 former employees of Apple work at OpenAI
    • Liu left Apple on 22 January 2026
    • OpenAI counters the original allegation by Apple with specific evidence from communications

Relevant practical impact

What this means

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For a business

The case shows that companies must have documented and effective measures to protect trade secrets and properly address “residual access” (continued access) after employees leave, otherwise they risk their own negligence weakening their lawsuit in court; at the same time, legal risks are growing around hiring employees from competitors and what they may “take with them” in…

Risks and compliance
What to decide Review the internal process for revoking departing employees’ access to systems and data, and have documented measures to protect trade secrets that can be cited in the event of a dispute.
More business impacts →
Apple io Products Jony Ive trade secrets OpenAI legal dispute employees

Check the original

Event sources

confirmed by 2 independent sources · 2 publishers, 2 independent. We count feeds from the same owner only once.

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The Verge AI independent context · first detected Apple’s OpenAI lawsuit is about who gets to define the post-smartphone era The Decoder (daily AI news) independent context OpenAI fires back at Apple's trade secret lawsuit with chat logs showing Apple employees kept texting their former colleague The Verge AI independent context OpenAI says Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit is ‘rotten to its core’