OpenAI asks court to dismiss Apple's trade secret lawsuit, calling allegations 'unfounded'

According to Bloomberg, OpenAI asked a federal judge to dismiss a trade secret lawsuit filed by Apple in July 2026. OpenAI called the accusations 'unfounded' and stressed it is 'not interested' in commercial secrets, as it creates 'something completely new and distinct from anything Apple has.' OpenAI said its hardware chief Tang Tan acted 'in accordance with generally accepted hiring standards' when interviewing Apple employees, and that engineer Chang Liu, accused by Apple of accessing confidential information after leaving, acted at the request of former colleagues who sought his help. Apple alleged that former employees who moved to OpenAI, including Tang Tan and Chang Liu, used confidential data to develop devices. In July 2026, OpenAI publicly responded to Apple's accusations, saying it 'takes the lawsuit seriously' but saw no evidence of wrongdoing. In August 2026, OpenAI stated that Apple's claims were based on misrepresentation and concealment of access management errors, providing correspondence showing its employee's access to internal systems was not revoked after leaving.