–:–:–:– 🚨 Flash Sale 🚨 Get $100 off your Disrupt 2026 ticket Get $400 off your Disrupt 2026 ticket: REGISTER NOW. Close TechCrunch Desktop Logo TechCrunch Mobile Logo LatestStartupsVentureAppleSecurityAIAppsDisrupt 2026 EventsPodcastsNewsletters SearchSubmit Site Search Toggle Mega Menu Toggle Topics Latest AI Amazon Apps Biotech & Health Climate Cloud Computing Commerce Crypto Enterprise EVs Fintech Fundraising Gadgets Gaming Google Government & Policy Hardware Instagram Layoffs Media & Entertainment Meta Microsoft Privacy Robotics Security Social Space Startups TikTok Transportation Venture More from TechCrunch Staff Events Startup Battlefield StrictlyVC Newsletters Podcasts Videos Partner Content TechCrunch Brand Studio Crunchboard Contact Us Image Credits:SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg / Getty Images AI OpenAI says Apple’s own security practices undermine its trade secrets case Sarah Perez 8:10 AM PDT · August 6, 2026 OpenAI’s motion to dismiss Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit, along with newly filed exhibits, reveals the company’s legal defense strategy. Rather than focusing on whether former Apple employees working at OpenAI had accessed certain information, the AI company argues that Apple’s own security practices and offboarding procedures weaken its claim that the information qualifies as legally protected “trade secrets.” Apple’s complaint, filed in July, accuses OpenAI of orchestrating a scheme to obtain confidential hardware information from former Apple engineers. This week, Apple asked the court to expedite discovery, saying its internal investigation indicates some additional former employees may have participated in, or witnessed, the alleged theft of trade secrets. In its motion, OpenAI argues that Apple allowed employees to use personal iCloud accounts for work and failed to properly revoke access after they left the company. It also submitted text message records showing that an Apple manager remained logged into the personal iCloud account of defendant and former Apple engineer Chang Liu after he left the company to transfer files, and later asked him for help with technical questions about Apple projects. OpenAI also accuses Apple of omitting the consequences of its own “inexplicable information-management practices” from its original complaint, noting that the company failed to properly secure its systems when employees departed, creating confusion and unwanted access issues that Apple now characterizes as theft. While this may sound a bit like a “the door was unlocked, so it wasn’t really stealing!” defense, this argument is meant to strengthen OpenAI’s argument that former Apple employees were simply trying to assist their prior colleagues. It could also help push the narrative that these weren’t truly trade secrets if they weren’t secured as such. OpenAI argues Apple hasn’t specified which “trade secrets” or confidential components were allegedly stolen, referring to them instead as “generic categories of the product-development process—such as component manufacturing, product testing, vendor and supplier relationships, and distribution channels.” OpenAI’s filing posits that Apple is using this lawsuit to slow down its competitor from innovating in AI-powered hardware, rather than focusing on its own product plans. “OpenAI has no use, need or desire for Apple’s trade secrets,” the motion argues. “OpenAI is building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple. OpenAI does have an interest in hiring the best engineers, inventors, developers and creators—many of whom have decided to leave Apple and to come to OpenAI, attracted by the innovative and exciting work the company is doing. Apple might not like that,” it reads. “…Apple should not be permitted to use a baseless and pretextual lawsuit to make up for itsshortcomings in the market for talent and retaining its employees, and its failures to integrate AI into its products,” the motion says. Topics AI, Apple, lawsuit, OpenAI When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Sarah Perez Consumer News Editor Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software. You can contact or verify outreach from Sarah by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal. View Bio October 13 – 15 San Francisco Scale faster. Grow your portfolio. Gain practical expertise. No matter your goal, Disrupt can empower you.Save up to $330 today! REGISTER NOW Most Popular Elon Musk repeatedly one-upped his execs on SpaceX’s first earnings call Sean O'Kane Bending Spoons to buy Airtable for $1.28B Ivan Mehta Influencers draw backlash for attending OpenAI’s first luxury trip Dominic-Madori Davis Sequoia’s Shaun Maguire leads $1B round for nuclear startup Valar Atomics Julie Bort Malaysia is reportedly shutting down Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School Anthony Ha YouTuber Hank Green says his AI usage is ‘not healthy’ Anthony Ha WhatsApp is testing a new folder for messages from large businesses Ivan Mehta Loading the next article Error loading the next article X LinkedIn Facebook Instagram youTube Mastodon Threads Bluesky TechCrunchStaffContact UsAdvertiseCrunchboard JobsSite Map Terms of ServicePrivacy PolicyRSS Terms of UseCode of Conduct OpenAI vs AppleNous ResearchSpace Data CentersStaya NadellaSpaceX StarshipTech LayoffsChatGPT © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC.
