OpenAI released internal emails and private messages that it says contradict key elements of Apple's lawsuit accusing the company of taking trade secrets, according to a company post published this week. The disclosure aims to challenge Apple's version of events involving former Apple engineer Chang Liu, who joined OpenAI after leaving the iPhone maker. No court has yet ruled on whether trade secrets were actually taken or misused, but the published records dispute several incidents Apple cited when requesting immediate court restrictions.
The messages show Apple employees asking Liu for technical details, file locations, and assistance remembering prior product decisions after he departed the company. Those requests continued into March, offering background for some of his ongoing involvement with former colleagues. However, the messages did not grant unlimited system access or approve file transfers. Separate exchanges reveal that a workplace device stayed connected to Liu's personal iCloud account during a file transfer by a colleague, and Liu was aware of the connection, requesting that iMessage be signed out to prevent information from his new employer from appearing. One Apple employee later described Liu's participation in a discussion as "highly irregular" and asked for his removal.
OpenAI says Apple's February correspondence before filing suit contained none of the specific allegations later presented in court, and that Apple did not follow up on the issue for five months. The company also denies that hardware executive Tang Tan requested Apple trade secrets, though no supporting messages accompany that denial. OpenAI calls the proposed injunction "completely unnecessary" and states it neither possesses nor wants Apple's confidential information.
The lawsuit could force OpenAI to reconstruct portions of its hardware program through emails, design records, and employee testimony during the discovery process, according to the report. That process could reach workers beyond Liu and expose unreleased product material before a judge decides whether he acted improperly. More than 400 OpenAI employees previously worked at Apple, which doesn't imply misconduct but makes consistent onboarding and departure controls essential when movement happens between competing technology firms. Companies recruiting from competitors should establish written rules before a new employee starts, including policies prohibiting the use of previous-employer files, devices, or accounts.
Court proceedings will determine how much weight OpenAI's records carry and whether confidential Apple material entered the company's hardware work, the report notes. Departing workers' accounts and active sessions should be closed promptly, and later requests for assistance should use an authorized channel without restoring access to old systems. The legal fight's outcome could reshape how technology companies manage employee transitions and protect proprietary information when talent moves between rivals. Beyond the immediate dispute, the case tests whether internal messaging and email trails can effectively counter corporate espionage allegations in an era when engineering talent circulates freely across Silicon Valley's most secretive projects.