The Daily Journal.- An alleged theft of trade secrets now threatens the technological partnership between Apple and OpenAI. The iPhone maker sued the artificial intelligence company, accusing it of obtaining confidential information through former Apple employees to develop its own hardware.
According to EFE, the actions allegedly taken by the ChatGPT creator triggered a legal dispute after Apple filed a lawsuit in California last month. “OpenAI should not be allowed to use Apple’s secrets to gain an unfair advantage in its hardware ambitions,” the company stated in a court filing.
The legal battle centers on the AI giant’s secret project to launch a technology device. Few details about the device have emerged, but the company aims to compete directly with Apple products.
Trade secret theft and the battle for talent
At the center of the dispute are Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, both former Apple employees. Apple accuses Liu, a former engineer, of breaching security protocols to access internal company data after leaving Apple. According to the company, Liu downloaded “dozens of confidential files.”
Meanwhile, the second defendant, a former vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, now serves as OpenAI’s head of hardware. According to court documents, he allegedly instructed job candidates to bring Apple components and prototypes to their interviews.
According to the lawsuit, more than 400 former Apple employees currently work at OpenAI. The figure highlights the fierce competition for talent between technology companies.
For that reason, Apple is seeking a court order to prevent OpenAI from using its information, warning that the company could suffer “irreparable harm” to its business. Federal Judge Edward Davila will consider both requests at a hearing on October 1.
Ironically, even as the legal battle intensifies, the two companies continue their commercial partnership, which began in 2024, to integrate ChatGPT into Apple products.
With information from EFE
