OpenAI denies Apple’s trade secret theft allegations in court filing

OpenAI said Apple is using the lawsuit to slow a potential competitor and discourage employee departures.OpenAI denied Apple's trade secret theft allegations in a court filing on Monday, saying the iPhone maker failed to show any confidential information was stolen by former employees, reported Reuters.

The remarks came as Apple sued OpenAI and former Apple employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu in July, accusing them of misappropriating trade secrets related to hardware design, manufacturing and supply-chain operations amid OpenAI's foray into consumer devices.OpenAI said Apple is using the lawsuit to slow a potential competitor and discourage employee departures.

The filings showed OpenAI has hired roughly 400 employees from Apple for its hardware ambitions.

California law allows employees to freely move between rivals, OpenAI said.OpenAI said Apple makes it difficult for departing employees to separate personal and company information, as it encourages the use of personal iCloud accounts to access work documents and perform work functions.It added that Apple's policy of immediately escorting departing employees from its premises does not give them enough time to return company devices, transfer internal files back to the company or hand over responsibilities.Liu said any access to Apple documents after his departure was done to help former Apple colleagues locate files or answer questions related to Apple work.

He said Apple employees repeatedly contacted him for assistance after he left.Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple, said he returned Apple prototypes before departing and only retained non-confidential materials, including an employee departure checklist that was not confidential.Two years ago, the two companies forged a partnership intended to boost ChatGPT's reach and help Apple gain a firmer footing in AI, but the relations soured as competition in the AI industry intensified.