OpenAI hits back at Apple, calls lawsuit 'careless, aggressive and personal'
New Delhi, August 5
Sam Altman's OpenAI accused Apple of filing a "careless, aggressive and oddly personal" lawsuit, saying the allegations and Apple's handling of the dispute fall short of the company's reputation for attention to detail.
Apple, on Monday, asked a US judge to bar OpenAI and two former employees from accessing, acquiring, using or disclosing alleged confidential information as it pursues its trade secrets case.
In an open letter titled "Apple is getting this wrong," OpenAI said, "This careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn't live up to that reputation."
OpenAI disputed Apple's claim that it had contacted the company in February without receiving a response, saying Apple's outside lawyers had emailed the wrong person after confusing two Asian surnames.
"Apple had claimed that they contacted OpenAI in February and that we didn't respond. They now admit that their outside lawyers emailed the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names--only after we brought this to their attention."
OpenAI also said Apple had claimed to have discussed the matter with its General Counsel, but later conceded that no such conversation had taken place. The company alleged that Apple had not raised the specific allegations contained in the lawsuit at the time and had instead indicated that it was "resolving any issues." OpenAI said it then heard nothing from Apple for five months before the lawsuit was filed, accusing Apple of attempting to "spin" the sequence of events in its latest filing.
OpenAI said Apple accused former employee Chang Liu of accessing confidential information after leaving the company, but acknowledged that Apple employees had contacted him for help locating the information. OpenAI also disputed Apple's claim of "residual access," saying the issue stemmed from inadequate management of system access after employees leave.
Apple also accused former employee Tang Tan of seeking and using its trade secrets. OpenAI said Tan had consistently instructed his team not to use confidential information from other companies, noting that he had worked at Apple for more than 24 years.
"We have taken the allegations in the lawsuit seriously and offered to work with Apple to resolve this," OpenAI said, stressing, "Apple's request for a preliminary injunction is both based on false information and completely unnecessary because we do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets."
— ANI
Reader Comments
Both companies have deep pockets and brilliant lawyers, but this feels like a PR battle more than a legal one. Apple's reputation is on the line here—if they can't get basic facts right, it undermines their credibility.
The surname mix-up is a classic example of why diversity training matters in corporate America. But honestly, Apple should have sorted this out internally before filing a lawsuit. Looks like they're just throwing weight around.
As someone who works in tech, this isn't surprising. Companies often overreact when employees leave, especially to competitors. But Apple's claims about OpenAI "wanting" trade secrets seems weak if they can't even get basic communication right.
Sam Altman is no saint either, but Apple's handling here looks unprofessional. If they had real evidence, they wouldn't need to spin the narrative. The "oddly personal" jab suggests this is more about ego than IP protection.
I'd love to see how this plays out in court. Apple's track record with trade secret cases is strong, but they seem to be overreaching here. Also, that email mix-up is embarrassing—someone's getting fired over this. 😅
From an outsider's perspective, this looks like Apple is
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