Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 4: In latest news, OpenAI has strongly rejected Apple’s allegations in its trade secrets lawsuit. It has also called the claims “false” and “completely unnecessary.” Taking one step further, OpenAI has also publicly released internal emails and chat records to challenge the iPhone maker’s version of events.
In a blog post responding to the lawsuit, the ChatGPT-maker said Apple was “getting this wrong.” It also insisted that it neither possesses nor wants Apple’s confidential trade secrets. Applehad sought a preliminary injunction to stop OpenAI and two former Apple employees from accessing or using information it claims contains trade secrets.
“We do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets,” OpenAI said, adding that Apple’s legal action was based on incorrect information.
The AI company further described Apple’s lawsuit as “careless. Aggressive, and oddly personal. They argued that it was inconsistent with the reputation of “one of the greatest companies of all time.”
OpenAI also disputed Apple’s claim that it had ignored attempts to resolve the issue. According to the startup, Apple’s outside lawyers mistakenly contacted the wrong OpenAI employee. This happened after they confused the surnames of two staff members. The company further shared internal emails in which its general counsel, Che Chang, accused Apple’s external counsel of falsely claiming to have spoken with him.
Moreover, the startup also challenged Apple’s allegations against former Apple engineer Liu, publishing internal messages. The messages showed Apple employees asking him to help locate and transfer files ever after his official departure. OpenAI argues that this demonstrated Apple’s own failure to revoke system access promptly rather than any misuse of confidential information.
Addressing allegations against former Apple executive Tang Tan, OpenAI said the executive had consistently instructed teams not to seek or use confidential information from previous employers.
