Apple sued OpenAI on Friday in federal court in Northern California, alleging trade secret theft related to the development of consumer hardware. The iPhone maker claims OpenAI took Apple's intellectual property, stating in a legal filing that 'at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple's trade secrets and confidential information.' The lawsuit marks a dramatic reversal in relations between the two companies, which entered into a high-profile partnership in 2024 when ChatGPT was integrated into the iPhone's operating system.
Apple Names Tang Tan and Chang Liu as Defendants in Trade Secret Allegations
Apple's legal filing names Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and former Apple vice president, as a defendant. The company alleges Tan 'directed job candidates still working for Apple to bring 'actual parts' from Apple to their interviews for 'show and tell' sessions in which he and his team at OpenAI can elicit still more Apple confidential information,' according to the filing.
Chang Liu, a former Apple employee who joined OpenAI, is also named as a defendant. Apple alleges Liu stole an Apple laptop. The company further claims OpenAI coached departing Apple employees on how to evade security processes when leaving the iPhone maker.
Apple also alleges that OpenAI is asking hardware firms to carry out a metal finishing technique that Apple invented, while 'misleading the partner to believe they had Apple's permission to do so.' IO Products, the startup OpenAI acquired, is named in the lawsuit.
Apple and OpenAI Partnership Reverses After Hardware Startup Acquisition
The two companies entered into a partnership in 2024 when ChatGPT was integrated into the iPhone's operating system. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visited Apple's headquarters for the announcement.
Relations between the companies chilled after OpenAI announced plans to enter the hardware industry when it bought former Apple designer Jony Ive's startup, IO Products, for $6.4 billion. OpenAI finished its first hardware prototypes in November, according to Altman.
Apple's updated version of its Siri assistant, coming out this fall, is based on Google's Gemini AI models instead of ChatGPT. Apple did not comment on whether the lawsuit will affect the partnership with OpenAI in which ChatGPT is integrated into Apple Intelligence.
Apple Seeks Damages and Injunctions Against OpenAI
Apple is seeking damages, injunctions, and an order to force OpenAI to stop using its trade secrets. 'Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple's secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products,' an Apple representative told CNBC in a statement.
Most of Apple's allegations involve former employees who have interviewed with or joined OpenAI.
FAQ
When did Apple sue OpenAI for trade secret theft?
Apple sued OpenAI on Friday in federal court in Northern California, alleging that the AI lab stole the iPhone maker's trade secrets and confidential information to develop consumer hardware.
Who are the defendants named in Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI?
Apple named Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and former Apple vice president, and Chang Liu, a former Apple employee who joined OpenAI, as defendants in the lawsuit. IO Products, the startup OpenAI acquired from Jony Ive for $6.4 billion, is also named in the suit.
What is Apple seeking in its lawsuit against OpenAI?
Apple is seeking damages, injunctions, and an order to force OpenAI to stop using its trade secrets. The lawsuit alleges OpenAI took Apple's intellectual property at every level of the organization to develop its own consumer hardware products.
