OpenAI rebuts Apple trade secrets allegations in new response and evidence

On August 4, OpenAI published a detailed response to Apple's lawsuit accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets related to hardware development. The blog post, titled "Apple is getting this wrong," defended OpenAI's actions and refuted Apple's claims. OpenAI stated that Apple's lawsuit was "careless, aggressive, and oddly personal," and criticized Apple for not properly notifying OpenAI about the issue before filing the lawsuit.

Apple had claimed that OpenAI did not respond to their February contact, but OpenAI admitted that their outside lawyers had emailed the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names. OpenAI also noted that Apple had claimed to have discussed the issue with OpenAI's General Counsel, but OpenAI denied this ever happening. The response then addressed Apple's allegations regarding data access issues, stating that Apple employees had reached out to Chang Liu for help locating certain information after he left the company.

OpenAI defended Tang Tan, a key figure in Apple's complaint, by stating that he had always emphasized that OpenAI would not use confidential information from other companies. OpenAI concluded by expressing disappointment that Apple had not raised these issues earlier and offered to work with them to resolve the situation. The post also included screenshots of emails and iMessages as evidence.