OpenAI’s request to dismiss Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit, coupled with newly submitted exhibits, underscores the company’s legal strategy. Instead of investigating whether former Apple employees at OpenAI accessed specific information, the AI firm contends that Apple’s own security measures and departure protocols undermine its assertion that the information qualifies as legally protected “trade secrets.”

Apple’s lawsuit, lodged in July, alleges that OpenAI engineered a scheme to acquire confidential hardware data from ex-Apple engineers. This week, Apple urged the court to accelerate discovery, stating that its internal inquiry suggests additional former employees may have taken part in, or observed, the supposed misappropriation of trade secrets.

In its filing, OpenAI maintains that Apple permitted employees to utilize personal iCloud accounts for work and neglected to properly revoke access post-departure. It also provided text message records showing that an Apple manager stayed logged into the personal iCloud account of defendant and ex-Apple engineer Chang Liu after his departure to transfer files, later reaching out for technical assistance regarding Apple projects.

OpenAI further claims Apple failed to include the implications of its own “inexplicable information-management practices” in its initial complaint, highlighting that the company did not adequately secure its systems when employees left, leading to confusion and unauthorized access issues that Apple now describes as theft.

Although this may resemble a “the door was unlocked, so it wasn’t really stealing!” defense, this argument aims to bolster OpenAI’s position that former Apple employees were merely attempting to aid their previous colleagues. It could also help advance the idea that these data were not genuinely trade secrets if they were not protected as such.

OpenAI contends that Apple has not clarified which “trade secrets” or confidential elements were purportedly stolen, instead categorizing them as “generic categories of the product-development process—such as component manufacturing, product testing, vendor and supplier relationships, and distribution channels.”

OpenAI’s submission suggests that Apple is leveraging this lawsuit to hinder its competitor from progressing in AI-driven hardware, rather than prioritizing its own product strategies.

“OpenAI has no use, need, or interest in Apple’s trade secrets,” the filing asserts. “OpenAI is creating something entirely new and distinct from anything at Apple. OpenAI is interested in hiring the best engineers, inventors, developers, and creators—many of whom have opted to leave Apple to join OpenAI, drawn by the innovative and thrilling work the company is doing. Apple might not appreciate that,” it states.

“…Apple should not be allowed to utilize a baseless and pretextual lawsuit to compensate for its
shortcomings in the talent market and in retaining its employees, and its failures to incorporate AI into its products,” the filing concludes.