GoKawiilApple filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday, accusing the AI company and its chief hardware officer of stealing its trade secrets.
"OpenAI and its cohorts, led at least in part by former Apple employees, have recruited candidates from Apple, extracted their knowledge of Apple’s sensitive and confidential information, and then continued to exploit that knowledge once they arrived," the complaint reads. "As a result, OpenAI has misappropriated Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information in a variety of ways."
The suit, filed in the Northern District of California , names OpenAI technical staff member Chang Liu, chief hardware officer Tang Tan, OpenAI, and io Products as defendants. The last of that group is notable because it was founded by Tan in collaboration with former Apple design head Jony Ive, Evans Hankey (Ive's successor at Apple), and former Apple designer Scott Cannon. Notably, the complaint seems to attempt to avoid naming the founders, though Ive's name is cited in a URL.
Tan previously served as a vice president of product design at Apple, working on the iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch. Liu served at Apple as a senior electrical engineer.
In the complaint, Apple alleges that it reached out to OpenAI in February with concerns, but that OpenAI did not respond. Apple claims that Tan attempted to gain secrets from Apple employees, including asking prospective job candidates to bring components for "show and tell" sessions and used his knowledge of the company to squeeze more information out of candidates. The suit claims that Liu never returned a company laptop, and used an authentication bug to access Apple files.
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Apple also claims that OpenAI told incoming employees how to leave their former job, suggesting they stay as long as possible and not disclose their former employer in order to continue to access confidential information.
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