OpenAI fires back at Apple trade-secret lawsuit with receipts

Trade secret lawsuits usually unfold behind sealed court dockets, but OpenAI just took a blowtorch to Apple’s playbook by dumping private iMessages and lawyer emails directly onto the open web.

In a blistering post titled "Apple is getting this wrong," OpenAI pushed back against Apple’s trade secrets litigation, calling the suit careless, aggressive, and oddly personal. To back up its defense, the company published internal communications showing that Apple's own claims fall apart under the briefest scrutiny.

Former staffers turned into unpaid tech support

Apple accused former employee Chang Liu of improperly accessing Apple confidential files after leaving the company. Liu wrapped up his final day at Apple on January 22, 2026, before heading to OpenAI.

However, the published iMessages show a very different reality. Apple employees repeatedly reached out to Liu after his departure, texting him to ask for help locating internal technical files and information so they could do their jobs.

OpenAI pointed out that Apple is now trying to pin the blame on "residual access." In reality, OpenAI argues, this is Apple's own IT failure: neglecting to revoke system permissions properly when employees exit, leaving former staff with access to files they neither requested nor wanted.

Apple also went after former design executive Tang Tan, who spent over 24 years at the company. Apple claimed Tan attempted to acquire and use trade secrets, but OpenAI countered that Tan explicitly instructed the team from day one that proprietary materials from other firms were strictly off-limits.

A lawyer mixes up Asian names and invents a phone call

If the file access accusations looked sloppy, the paper trail left by Apple's outside legal team looked outright embarrassing.

Apple initially claimed it reached out to OpenAI in February without receiving a response, adding that its lawyers had held a discussion with OpenAI General Counsel Che Chang. The published emails prove that never happened.

Instead, Weil Gotshal partner Gabriel Gross sent an email to Chang, followed shortly by a message thanking him for a productive phone call that never occurred. A baffled Chang forwarded the chain to Apple’s in-house counsel, asking why their lawyer was lying about a nonexistent conversation.

Gross was forced to apologize, admitting he confused two Asian last names and had actually spoken to a completely different former employee named Wang. Apple’s team then assured OpenAI they were working to resolve any issues, went silent for five months, and abruptly filed a lawsuit demanding a preliminary injunction.

OpenAI filed a motion to dismiss in August and opposed the injunction in September. By October, OpenAI escalated the fight further, filing court documents raising concerns that Apple has actually obtained OpenAI’s own confidential information.

Why it matters

We think OpenAI executed a brilliant counter-punch here. Trade secret lawsuits often leave defendants fighting a defensive PR war. By skipping corporate platitudes and publishing raw receipts, OpenAI effectively shifted the narrative from corporate espionage to Apple’s own internal disorganization and bumbling outside counsel.

Underneath the comedy of legal errors, this lawsuit signals that the fight over AI hardware talent has reached a boiling point. OpenAI scooped up Tang Tan and other veteran designers to build next-generation physical devices—stepping squarely onto Apple's home turf. Apple's aggressive filing looks like an attempt to freeze that pipeline.

However, bringing a lawsuit armed with mixed-up names and messages where your current staff begs a departed employee for help is a high-risk move that has already backfired. With OpenAI now accusing Apple of acquiring its proprietary secrets, this feud is expanding well beyond a standard non-compete skirmish into an ugly, protracted brawl over the future of AI devices.