{"id":364571,"date":"2026-07-11T11:25:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T05:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=364571"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:25:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T05:55:35","slug":"apple-sues-openai-former-employees-over-alleged-mental-property-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/11\/apple-sues-openai-former-employees-over-alleged-mental-property-theft\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple sues OpenAI, former employees over alleged mental property theft"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Apple Inc. today sued OpenAI Group PBC for allegedly stealing mental property related to its consumer devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

The iPhone maker filed the <\/span>criticism<\/span><\/a> with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.<\/span><\/p>\n

OpenAI entered the patron electronics market last 12 months when it <\/span>bought<\/span> io Products Inc., a startup founded by former Apple executives. The Information <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> in February that the ChatGPT developer was working on a wise speaker and smart glasses. Moreover, it\u2019s believed that OpenAI could launch a wise lamp with artificial intelligence features.<\/span><\/p>\n

The corporate has <\/span>reportedly<\/span><\/a> hired greater than 400 former Apple employees to support its hardware push. Based on today\u2019s lawsuit, OpenAI has been instructing candidates to bring blueprints and device prototypes from the iPhone maker to interviews. The ChatGPT developer allegedly also asked some Apple staffers to share engineering methodologies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Certainly one of the individuals allegedly involved in the trouble is io Products co-founder Tang Tan, who is known as as a defendant within the lawsuit. Tan spent greater than 20 years at Apple before launching the startup. He’s currently OpenAI\u2019s chief hardware officer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on the lawsuit, Tan instructed Apple staffers recruited by OpenAI to remain so long as possible on the iPhone maker. He allegedly provided them with details about Apple\u2019s security procedures. The corporate charges that the knowledge got here from a confidential internal document improperly retained by Tan after his departure.<\/span><\/p>\n

The opposite person who the lawsuit names as a defendant is Chang Liu, a former Apple engineer who joined OpenAI this 12 months. The iPhone maker alleges that Liu didn’t return a piece laptop after his departure. Moreover, Apple claims that Liu used the machine to log into its internal network and download dozens of files that contained details about upcoming products.<\/span><\/p>\n

The iPhone maker is in search of damages from OpenAI. Moreover, it has asked the court to dam the ChatGPT developer from using its trade secrets without permission.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple\u2019s trade secrets and confidential information,\u201d Apple wrote within the lawsuit.<\/span><\/p>\n

OpenAI said in a press release responding to the criticism that \u201cwe have now no real interest in other corporations\u2019 trade secrets. We remain focused on constructing revolutionary technology that empowers people in all places.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The lawsuit is especially notable because Apple inked a software partnership with OpenAI in June 2024, a 12 months before the io Products acquisition. The businesses developed an integration that allows Siri to route complex prompts to ChatGPT. This past January, Apple <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> plans to release a new edition of the AI assistant that may use Google LLC\u2019s Gemini model series.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Pixabay<\/a><\/h5>\n
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