The Apple-OpenAI trade secrets lawsuit just flipped sides. In a federal court filing in San Jose this week, OpenAI alleged that an employee who quit for Apple first sent more than 100 files about an unreleased product to a personal account, then turned around and presented that product to senior Apple leadership. It is the most serious accusation yet in a legal fight that began when Apple said its own secrets were walking out the door in the opposite direction.
According to OpenAI’s filing, the haul was no ordinary departure paperwork. The files allegedly included images of at least one unreleased device, supplier information, engineering data, project files, standards for cosmetic finishes, and reports on the “coating and sealing of hardware components,” The Verge reported. The presentation to Apple leadership supposedly included the company’s vice president of operations in Asia, a detail that suggests OpenAI has receipts, not just suspicion.
OpenAI didn’t mince words in the filing. “OpenAI is very concerned that its trade secret and confidential information is now circulating inside Apple, where Apple engineers can shape Apple’s upcoming products based on OpenAI’s confidential and innovative work,” the company wrote. Reuters reported the filing also pointed to Apple’s HomeView smart display, released this week, as evidence that Apple is building AI hardware of its own.
Apple denies everything.
Apple’s denial: “no evidence so far”
Apple said it has policies and procedures to keep new hires from using a former employer’s confidential information, and that it has found no evidence to support OpenAI’s allegations. In an October 12 letter to OpenAI, made public in another court filing this week, Apple’s lawyers argued the two personal phone numbers OpenAI identified as the files’ recipients don’t match the employee’s Apple work number, which would mean Apple never had custody of the data while the employee worked at OpenAI.
Apple’s letter went further. Its lawyers said Apple’s search of repositories tied to the employee’s work found no OpenAI files on company servers, and that Apple had never heard of any presentation about an unreleased OpenAI product. Apple had asked OpenAI for more information before things escalated. OpenAI didn’t respond, according to Apple. It went to court instead.
The Apple-OpenAI trade secrets lawsuit, explained
This week’s filing isn’t a new case. It’s a counterpunch in a dispute Apple started. Back in July, Apple sued OpenAI in the Northern District of California, alleging a months-long scheme in which two former employees, Chang Liu, a senior systems electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, who led product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, took confidential engineering information to help OpenAI build hardware of its own. OpenAI denied those claims, saying it had no interest in anyone else’s trade secrets.
The procedural scoreboard has been busy. Earlier this week, US District Judge Edward Davila granted Apple part of what it wanted in early discovery: permission to pull data from some former employees’ devices and to sit three of them for depositions on an expedited schedule, including Liu and Tan. OpenAI’s counter-filing appears to have delayed a scheduled hearing in the case, and the company has signaled it may file a full countersuit.
The stakes are getting concrete. Apple wants depositions and device access now, not after months of briefing. OpenAI wants the court to see this as a two-way street. The case is expected to reach trial in October 2027, though OpenAI has told the court it could be ready as soon as June 2027.
Why this fight is really about AI hardware
Strip away the legal theater and this is a hardware war. OpenAI is pushing into consumer hardware, a market Apple has dominated for decades. Apple is expanding into AI-powered smart home products. HomeView debuted this week at its Welcome Home event. Two of the world’s most valuable companies are converging on the same turf, and engineers are walking between them.
That’s what makes this uglier than a typical trade-secrets spat. Hardware takes years and billions to get right; a single leaked design file can be worth more than a year of model training. Both sides know it, which is why the filings read like warning shots: OpenAI threatening a countersuit, Apple demanding expedited depositions and device access.
For the rest of us, nothing changes this week. No products are blocked, no launches canceled. But the AI race has a new front, and it isn’t about models or chips. It’s about people, and what they take with them when they leave.
Sources: Reuters, The Verge
Frequently asked questions
What is OpenAI accusing Apple of in the trade secrets lawsuit?
OpenAI alleges that a former employee sent more than 100 files about an unreleased product to a personal account before joining Apple, then presented the product to senior Apple leadership, including the company’s vice president of operations in Asia.
What did the files allegedly taken to Apple contain?
According to The Verge’s reporting on the filing, the files included images of at least one unreleased device, supplier information, engineering data, project files, standards for cosmetic finishes, and reports on the coating and sealing of hardware components.
How did the Apple-OpenAI trade secrets lawsuit start?
Apple sued OpenAI in July, alleging two former employees (senior systems electrical engineer Chang Liu and iPhone and Apple Watch design chief Tang Yew Tan) took confidential engineering information to help OpenAI build hardware. OpenAI denied those claims.
When will the Apple-OpenAI trade secrets case go to trial?
The case is expected to reach trial in October 2027, although OpenAI has told the court it could be ready for trial as soon as June 2027.