OpenAI Has Three Words For Apple's Lawsuit: 'Careless, Aggressive And Oddly Personal'

The ChatGPT maker said Apple is using selective and false information, hours after Apple sought an injunction in the case.

• “This careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn’t live up to that [Apple’s] reputation,” OpenAI said in a blog post.
• Last ‌month, Apple sued OpenAI and two former Apple employees, both now working for OpenAI, alleging misappropriation of its trade secrets.
• The retail sentiment was ‘neutral’ for OpenAI and ‘extremely bullish’ for Apple and Anthropic on Tuesday.

OpenAI on Tuesday pushed back against Apple’s trade secret theft lawsuit, accusing the iPhone maker of distorting the facts and relying on selective and false claims, hours after Apple sought an injunction to block certain disclosures in the case.

“Apple is one of the greatest companies of all time, and built a reputation for obsessing over the smallest details. This careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn’t live up to that reputation,” OpenAI said in a blog post titled “Apple is getting this wrong.”

Apple on Monday asked a U.S. judge for a preliminary injunction barring two former employees and OpenAI from accessing, acquiring, using or disclosing alleged ​confidential information as it moves ahead with its trade secrets case, Reuters reported.

Last ‌month, Apple sued OpenAI and two former Apple employees, both now working for OpenAI, alleging misappropriation of its trade secrets. Apple claims that OpenAI encouraged Apple employees to share information, components, drawings, and other materials related to upcoming products — as part of the AI company's efforts to develop its own suite of devices.

OpenAI’s Rebuttal

OpenAI accused Apple of misrepresenting key facts, saying the iPhone maker initially claimed the AI company had ignored its outreach before later admitting its outside lawyers had emailed the wrong person after confusing two employees with similar Asian last names. 

In its lengthy rebuttal, OpenAI shared internal text messages and emails between OpenAI and Apple executives. It also said Apple had incorrectly asserted that it discussed the allegations with the company’s general counsel, only to later concede that no such conversation had taken place.

OpenAI defended Tang Tan, the former Apple executive at the center of the lawsuit, saying he had repeatedly instructed employees not to bring or use confidential information from previous employers. The company described Tan, who spent more than two decades at Apple, as one of the company’s most respected product leaders and said it neither possessed nor wanted Apple’s trade secrets.

The ChatGPT maker also disputed allegations against former Apple engineer Chang Liu, whom Apple accused of accessing confidential company information after leaving. 

OpenAI said Apple employees had themselves contacted Liu seeking his help in locating those files, arguing the incident stemmed from Apple’s failure to revoke access for departing employees rather than any wrongdoing.

The AI company said it had offered to work with Apple to address its concerns before and after the lawsuit was filed, but accused the iPhone maker of shifting its narrative and making unsupported allegations against other former employees. 

“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. We’re much more interested in building innovative products and technologies that push the frontier,” according to the OpenAI blog.

OpenAI IPO Watch

The latest developments in the lawsuit point to an escalating feud. OpenAI, which faces increasing market pressure from Anthropic, could face serious roadblocks in its planned initial public offering (IPO) should the lawsuit drag on for long.

“Apple going for the prelim injunction against OpenAI.. Gloves off,” CNBC analyst Jim Cramer said on X.

Investors are closely watching developments at OpenAI as it moves toward a public listing, setting up a potential IPO showdown with chief rival Anthropic. Both companies confidentially filed IPO paperwork with regulators in May, before reports emerged that OpenAI may delay its listing until next year rather than the previously expected fourth-quarter timeline.

OpenAI now broadly trails Anthropic, based on the most recently disclosed numbers. In April, Anthropic said it tripled its annual revenue run rate to $30 billion, surpassing OpenAI’s ARR of about $24 billion. Anthropic is valued at $1.13 trillion, compared to OpenAI’s private market valuation of $856.95 billion, according to data from Nasdaq Private Market.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘neutral’ for OPEAZZX and ‘extremely bullish’ for AAPL and ANTHZZX.

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