--- title: "Apple sues OpenAI and two former employees for stealing trade secrets" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/292359292.md" description: "Apple Inc. has sued OpenAI and two former employees, accusing them of systematically stealing trade secrets. The lawsuit claims that former employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan illegally obtained internal Apple documents, extracted information, and guided others on how to evade exit security checks; OpenAI also leaked confidential processes to suppliers. Apple is seeking a court order to prohibit the defendants from using the trade secrets, return the materials, and compensate for damages" datetime: "2026-07-10T21:18:07.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/292359292.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292359292.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/292359292.md) --- # Apple sues OpenAI and two former employees for stealing trade secrets Apple Inc. officially filed a lawsuit on Friday, naming OpenAI and two former Apple employees as defendants, accusing the latter of systematically and deliberately soliciting current and former Apple employees to steal Apple's confidential core information, facilitating the parent company's layout in the consumer hardware business for ChatGPT. The lawsuit was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing the defendants of conspiring to steal various confidential information from Apple, covering core content such as product design, manufacturing processes, and supply chain strategies. Apple stated in a press release: "Recently, a large amount of key evidence has emerged, confirming that OpenAI employees illegally stole Apple's unreleased technology, manufacturing processes, and product-related confidential information." The lawsuit claims that former senior electrical engineer Chang Liu retained a company-issued Apple laptop after leaving Apple and found a system vulnerability that allowed continued access to Apple's cloud file storage system. During his time developing hardware for OpenAI, he logged into Apple's internal network multiple times and downloaded hundreds of internal documents marked as confidential. Apple also accused Tang Tan of using Apple's internal project code names to extract more internal information from job candidates at OpenAI who were still employed at Apple. It is alleged that he required candidates to bring physical components (batteries, motherboards, system-level packaging chips) for demonstration and discussion; the lawsuit also mentioned that Tang Tan held or improperly obtained Apple's confidential offboarding control documents and circulated them internally, guiding new OpenAI employees to evade Apple's offboarding security checks. Tang Tan previously worked on hardware development for Apple's iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, and after leaving Apple in 2024, he joined AI hardware startup io Products, which was subsequently acquired by OpenAI for $6.5 billion. Apple and OpenAI had previously collaborated to integrate ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence and Siri, but their relationship deteriorated due to competition in AI hardware and talent acquisition. Apple also accused OpenAI of leaking Apple's confidential information to long-term suppliers during the self-developed hardware phase. The lawsuit states that OpenAI induced a partner manufacturer to demonstrate Apple's exclusive metal finishing commercial process, deliberately misleading the partner into believing that it had obtained Apple's authorization. Apple claims that over 400 former Apple employees have joined OpenAI. Apple is seeking a court order prohibiting the defendants from holding, using, or disclosing Apple's trade secrets, compelling the defendants to retain and return all of Apple's confidential information, and seeking compensation for damages caused by the theft of trade secrets and breach of cooperation agreements ### Related Stocks - [AAPL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPL.US.md) - [AAPU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPU.US.md) - [AAPX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPX.US.md) - [AAPB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPB.US.md) - [AAPD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPD.US.md) - [AAPW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPW.US.md) - [APLY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/APLY.US.md) - [AAPY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPY.US.md) - [MAGX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MAGX.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Apple accuses OpenAI of playing dirty in the AI talent wars](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292361652.md) - [Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292355679.md) - [Apple’s failed self-driving car program left a legacy of powerful AI chips](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292406910.md) - [Apple Releases New AirPods Beta Firmware With iOS 27 Features](https://longbridge.com/en/news/291966202.md) - [iOS 27 Public Beta is Coming Soon](https://longbridge.com/en/news/291968419.md)