OpenAI Asks Federal Judge to Dismiss Apple's Trade Secrets Lawsuit

OpenAI has asked a federal judge to throw out the lawsuit filed by Apple accusing the artificial intelligence company of misappropriating trade secrets. The documents were filed in federal court on Wednesday, August 5, and reported the following day. According to OpenAI's lawyers, Apple's claims have no merit and falsely portray the actions of the employees involved. In its filing, OpenAI argues that its top hardware executive acted in line with industry-wide recruiting standards when interviewing Apple employees. The company also says a worker accused of theft was in fact trying to assist a former colleague still at Apple. The brief opens with a jab at the iPhone maker's reputation for attention to detail. The dispute escalated earlier in the week. Apple had asked the court for a preliminary injunction barring OpenAI and two former employees, Chang Liu and Tang Tan, from accessing, using or disclosing its confidential information. Hours later, OpenAI published a detailed public rebuttal that included internal messages and legal correspondence. The case touches a sensitive area: OpenAI's ambitions in consumer hardware and the movement of engineers between two companies that are also partners on integrating ChatGPT into some Apple products. No ruling has yet been issued on the motion to dismiss or on the injunction request. The timetable for the next procedural steps remains with the federal court handling the case.