Clash of the tech titans heading to court over alleged trade secret theft

By: Ireland Owens, DCNF

Apple sued artificial intelligence giant OpenAI on Friday over alleged trade secret theft.

Apple alleges in a court filing that it is now “clear” that, at “every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners,” OpenAI has been stealing “trade secrets and confidential information” from Apple. The lawsuit also claims that “as a natural result, OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.”

Neither Apple nor OpenAI immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

“Apple has invested hundreds of billions of dollars and decades of effort in developing groundbreaking consumer hardware products like iPhone, Apple Watch, and MacBook, along with the business acumen and infrastructure to bring them to market at scale,” according to the court filing. “This sustained and focused investment of time, talent, and resources has produced engineering breakthroughs, manufacturing and supply chain innovations, and a global network of strategic partnerships—all built on confidentiality and trust.”

“Behind the scenes, Apple keeps its product development, manufacturing, supply chain, technology research, and other innovations confidential,” the filing continues. “The trade secrets spanning Apple’s hardware operations collectively constitute one of the most valuable intellectual assets in all of American business.”

Apple added that it “takes the confidentiality of its trade secrets seriously.”

“In the rare situation where Apple becomes aware that its confidential information may have been compromised—by a third party, a partner, an employee, or anyone else—it investigates and works to contain and resolve any issues,” the filing reads. “This case arises from such an investigation. Apple has uncovered a pattern of theft of Apple’s trade secrets by OpenAI employees who were formerly at Apple.”

An OpenAI spokesperson told Axios in a statement that the company has “no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.”

“We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere,” the spokesperson added.

The filing also alleges “Apple has observed a recent trend of employees who are leaving Apple for OpenAI and taking steps to evade security measures.”

The lawsuit comes after OpenAI and Apple announced in June 2024 that they were entering into a high-profile partnership to “integrate ChatGPT into Apple experiences.” Anonymous sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in May that Apple’s two-year deal with OpenAI had become increasingly fraught, with the AI company expressing dissatisfaction over the lack of expected benefits of the partnership and potentially weighing legal action.

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