Poaching 400 people triggers a trade secrets war! OpenAI applies to dismiss the lawsuit, countering Apple's theft allegations

According to Zhitong Finance APP, OpenAI is requesting a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Apple (AAPL.US). Apple accuses the artificial intelligence company of stealing trade secrets, while OpenAI claims that Apple's allegations are baseless.

OpenAI's lawyers state that Apple's complaint mischaracterizes the behavior of the startup's employees. They argue that the actions of the hardware business executives of the ChatGPT developer during interviews with Apple employees conform to industry-wide hiring standards; and the employee accused of stealing secrets was actually trying to assist their former colleague at Apple.

In court documents submitted on Wednesday evening, OpenAI stated, "Apple's complaint is clearly filed without sufficient investigation, based on content taken out of context from chat logs and ordinary behavior divorced from context. Borrowing Apple's own wording, this complaint 'is fundamentally rotten from the root' and should not allow Apple to use this baseless lawsuit as an excuse to compensate for its shortcomings in the talent market."

The document also points out Apple's own failures in integrating artificial intelligence into its products and states that the lawsuit "repackages the good faith and legal actions of former employees—who in many cited instances were actually trying to assist Apple by ensuring that their former colleagues' work could continue after they left—into so-called theft of trade secrets."

This move is a response to Apple's lawsuit filed against OpenAI and its Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan in July of this year. Over the past two years, the two companies collaborated to directly integrate ChatGPT into iPhone, iPad, and Mac software, but their relationship has recently cooled. The hardware company accuses OpenAI of orchestrating a scheme to steal trade secrets through Apple's job applicants and new hires.

The submission of the document comes a day after Apple requested the judge to order OpenAI to stop using its alleged stolen trade secrets and to force OpenAI to return any confidential information to Apple. If approved, the injunction will remain in effect during the course of Apple's lawsuit.

OpenAI has been providing key technology for the Apple Intelligence platform and Siri digital assistant. However, tensions between the two parties have escalated over the past year—OpenAI hired former Apple design master Jony Ive to assist in device development, further worsening the situation. According to the complaint, the AI company has hired over 400 former Apple employees.

Apple's lawsuit specifically names former iPhone engineer Chang Liu, who joined OpenAI in January of this year. Apple claims that he discovered an authentication vulnerability while developing devices for OpenAI, allowing him to access hardware-related confidential documents within weeks.

However, OpenAI states that it was Liu who was approached by several of his former colleagues at Apple seeking help in locating the information they needed for their work. OpenAI has publicly released text message excerpts between an unidentified Apple employee and Liu, intending to prove the existence of this request for assistance OpenAI's statutory deadline to respond to Apple's preliminary injunction application is August 17. The judge is scheduled to hear arguments on the motion on October 1.

The case number is: Apple vs. Liu, 5:26-cv-07078, and the court is the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (San Jose Division)