OpenAI Weaponizes Apple's Security Lapses in Trade Secrets Battle
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
In a bold legal maneuver, OpenAI is arguing that Apple's own 'inexplicable' information management makes its claims of stolen trade secrets baseless.
As TechCrunch first reported, OpenAI is fighting Apple's trade secrets lawsuit by turning the spotlight on Apple's own internal security failures. In a motion to dismiss, OpenAI argues that Apple's "inexplicable information-management practices" undermine the claim that the disputed information qualifies as legally protected trade secrets.
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**OPINION:** This is a classic 'unlocked door' defense. OpenAI isn't just denying the theft; they are arguing that if the information wasn't secured, it doesn't legally qualify as a trade secret. By weaponizing Apple's offboarding lapses, OpenAI is attempting to shield its proprietary trajectory and talent acquisition strategy from judicial scrutiny.
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OpenAI alleges that Apple allowed employees to use personal iCloud accounts for professional work and failed to revoke access upon departure. To support this, OpenAI submitted records showing an Apple manager remained logged into the personal iCloud account of former engineer and defendant Chang Liu after Liu left, using it to transfer files and seek technical help.
OpenAI further contends that Apple has failed to specify exactly which secrets were stolen, citing only "generic categories of the product-development process," such as component manufacturing, product testing, distribution channels, and vendor relationships.
While Apple's July complaint accuses OpenAI of orchestrating a scheme to obtain hardware data—and recently asked the court to expedite discovery—OpenAI frames the lawsuit as a pretext. In its filing, OpenAI asserts it has "no use, need or desire" for Apple's secrets, arguing that Apple is using the legal system to compensate for its inability to retain talent and its failures to integrate AI into its own products.