‘Apple is one of the greatest companies of all time,’ says OpenAI
In an open letter , OpenAI this week turned to the court of public opinion in its existential war against Apple with a public notice in which the company refutes the iPhone maker’s claims concerning wholesale use of confidential information. You can detect the depth of enmity between both firms in OpenAI’s opening lines to its letter, which begins: “Apple is one of the greatest companies of all…
OpenAI's public letter asserts Apple is one of the greatest companies ever, while simultaneously defending itself against allegations of trade secret theft and breach of intellectual property agreements from the technology giant. The lawsuit, filed by Apple on July 10, 2023, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, names OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI Group PBC, io Products, Chang Liu, and Tang Yew Tan, accusing the latter two of misappropriation of trade secrets, as per the Defend Trade Secrets Act.
OpenAI counters these claims, stating Apple's allegations are based on factual errors, miscommunication, and misleading assertions. Apple claims Tan, a former Apple senior engineer now OpenAI's chief hardware officer, directed job candidates to bring Apple parts to interviews and distributed internal documents describing Apple's departure protocols to new hires before they resigned.
Chang Liu allegedly failed to return an Apple laptop and used it to download confidential technical documents. OpenAI contends Apple contacted the wrong lawyer, falsely claimed a phone call, and later acknowledged the mistakes without retracting its lawsuit. OpenAI further argues that Liu was merely responding to requests for help locating Apple files, indicating Apple's own security failures.
Apple might argue that OpenAI's attempts to gather information through recruitment and poaching of Apple employees are part of a broader attempt to accumulate Apple's trade secrets. Both parties have strong points, and the outcome will depend on legal interpretations rather than public opinion. OpenAI provided correspondence showing Apple's failure in device management and possible breaches of off-ramping agreements between former employees and Apple.
The rivalry between these tech giants appears likely to escalate legally, with OpenAI claiming its request for a preliminary injunction is unfounded, as they neither possess nor desire Apple's trade secrets.
Written by urgent.news from Computerworld's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
