OpenAI published on August 4, 2026 a statement on its blog, titled "Apple is getting this wrong," with screenshots of iMessage conversations and emails to counter Apple's lawsuit accusing the company of misappropriating trade secrets. Going public before going to court is unusual among technology giants.
The lawsuit, filed in mid-July, centers on two former Apple employees now working at OpenAI: Chang Liu, a former iPhone engineer now on the technical team, and Tang Tan, who spent 25 years at Apple overseeing the design of the iPhone and Apple Watch before becoming OpenAI's hardware director. Forbes reports that Apple contends both individuals took confidential information about technologies, processes, and unreleased products to advance OpenAI's hardware plans. The dispute pits two of the most influential companies in artificial intelligence and hardware against each other, placing the movement of talent between firms at the center of the debate.
Among the points OpenAI says it refutes is the accusation that it failed to respond to Apple's initial legal outreach: according to the company, Apple's outside counsel sent an email to the wrong person after confusing two Asian surnames. On Liu, Apple claims he accessed his cloud storage after leaving the company; OpenAI replies that Apple employees asked him to help locate that information and that residual access by former employees is a recurring problem at Apple. As for Tan, OpenAI maintains that he was always clear with his team about not using confidential information from other companies. On Monday, August 3, Apple asked a federal court in California for a preliminary injunction to prevent Liu, Tan, and OpenAI from using or disclosing the disputed information while the case proceeds.
The ruling on that preliminary injunction will be the case's next milestone. The public exchange of messages adds a reputational dimension to a litigation pitting two of the sector's largest companies against each other, and its outcome will be followed in the courts.
This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.