Apple Sues OpenAI Over Stolen Trade Secrets — SkimNews
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- Apple filed a 41-page complaint in Northern California federal court accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets, naming three former Apple employees — Tang Tan (24-year Apple veteran, now OpenAI's chief hardware officer), Chang Liu (8-year iPhone systems engineer), and Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng.
- OpenAI is preparing for an IPO after confidentially filing a Form S-1 with the SEC last month and is developing a hardware device targeted for 2027 release, following its $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's hardware startup io.
- Apple said the three named defendants are "the tip of the iceberg," alleging a broader "pattern of theft" spanning Technical Staff to chief hardware officer, coordinated with business partners.
- Legal experts told The Verge the individual allegations are common in Silicon Valley, but the case stands out for combining "hiring-stage extraction, interview-based solicitation, [and] internal collusion" in a single filing — including Tan allegedly coaching Apple employees on avoiding offboarding security.
- The lawsuit marks a break from Apple and OpenAI's 2024 partnership to integrate ChatGPT into Apple devices — "you're starting to see these alliances fracture," per Rikka Law Group's Charlyn Ho.
- Trade secret cases are harder to prove than copyright claims and likely to run for years of "super involved" discovery — "Apple and OpenAI are going to be in this for the long haul," said Watstein Terepka's Alex Terepka.
Why it matters: The lawsuit lands as OpenAI prepares for an IPO and readies a 2027 hardware device from its $6.5B Jony Ive acquisition. Apple — "a tenacious litigant" that "does not tend to back down" per one attorney — is pressing a case experts told The Verge will run for years, putting OpenAI's hardware plans under discovery scrutiny when it most needs to reassure public-market investors.
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