OpenAI Challenges Apple: Internal Practices Under Fire

OpenAI Challenges Apple: Internal Practices Under Fire

OpenAI's motion to dismiss the trade secrets lawsuit filed by Apple, accompanied by new documents, reveals the company's legal defense strategy. Instead of focusing on whether former Apple employees working at OpenAI accessed certain information, the AI company argues that Apple's own security practices and exit procedures undermine its claim that the information in question is legally protected as "trade secrets."

Apple's complaint, filed in July, accuses OpenAI of orchestrating a scheme to obtain confidential material information from former Apple engineers. This week, Apple requested the court to expedite discovery, claiming that its internal investigation indicates that additional former employees may have participated in or witnessed the alleged theft of trade secrets.

In its motion, OpenAI argues that Apple allowed employees to use personal iCloud accounts for work and did not properly revoke access after they left the company. It also submitted text message records showing that an Apple manager remained connected to the personal iCloud account of defendant and former Apple engineer, Chang Liu, after his departure to transfer files, and later asked him for help with technical questions regarding Apple projects.

OpenAI also accuses Apple of omitting the consequences of its own "inexplicable information management practices" in its initial complaint, noting that the company did not properly secure its systems when employees left, thereby creating confusion and unwanted access that Apple now characterizes as theft.

While this may seem a bit like a defense of the "the door was unlocked, so it wasn't really theft!" variety, this argument aims to bolster OpenAI's position that former Apple employees were simply trying to assist their former colleagues. It could also help convey the message that these are not truly trade secrets if they were not secured as such.

OpenAI contends that Apple has not specified which "trade secrets" or confidential components were allegedly stolen, instead referring to them as "generic categories of the product development process" — such as component manufacturing, product testing, supplier relationships, and distribution channels.

OpenAI's filing suggests that Apple is using this lawsuit to slow down its competitor in AI-powered hardware innovation, rather than focusing on its own product plans.

"OpenAI has no use, need, or desire for Apple's trade secrets," the motion asserts. "OpenAI is building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple. OpenAI has an interest in recruiting the best engineers, inventors, developers, and creators — many of whom have chosen to leave Apple to join OpenAI, drawn by the innovative and exciting work the company is doing. Apple may not appreciate this," it reads.

"…Apple should not be allowed to use a baseless and pretextual lawsuit to compensate for its shortcomings in the talent market and employee retention, as well as its failures to integrate AI into its products," the motion concludes.