Tech giants: Apple sues OpenAI for theft of trade secrets

Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, accusing it of stealing trade secrets. The tech giant claims this theft is part of a "coordinated pattern of institutional misconduct" by OpenAI.

The lawsuit, filed in a California court, names OpenAI and two former Apple employees: Tang Tan, now OpenAI's head of hardware, and Chang Liu, a former electrical engineer at Apple. Tan was involved in the development of key Apple products like the iPhone and Apple Watch. At OpenAI, he is reportedly playing a crucial role in developing a new AI-focused device.

According to Apple, Tan allegedly misused confidential iPhone information for OpenAI's benefit, even encouraging Apple employees to bring company components to job interviews at OpenAI. Liu is accused of accessing confidential data from his former employer via a computer after joining OpenAI. Apple estimates that over 400 former employees now work for OpenAI.

Despite the legal dispute, Apple and OpenAI have maintained a partnership for several years, integrating OpenAI's AI capabilities into iPhones and other Apple devices. Customers can currently route general queries that Siri cannot answer to ChatGPT.

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coordinated pattern of institutional misconduct