OpenAI Publicly Rebuts Apple's Trade-Secret Lawsuit Over Two Former Employees
Apple has sued OpenAI, alleging that two former Apple employees — Chang Liu and Tang Tan, who now work at OpenAI — improperly accessed or attempted to use Apple’s confidential information and trade secrets after leaving the company. OpenAI has published a public statement disputing Apple’s account of the underlying events and how the dispute was handled before litigation began.
Details
- Apple’s claims: Apple alleges that Chang Liu accessed Apple confidential information after departing the company, and that Tang Tan attempted to obtain and use Apple trade secrets, both in alleged violation of Apple’s intellectual property rights
- OpenAI’s response on process: OpenAI says Apple’s outside counsel “emailed the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names” and had previously indicated the matter was being resolved, before OpenAI “heard nothing for five months” until Apple filed suit
- OpenAI’s account of Liu’s access: OpenAI states that residual system access Liu had after leaving Apple stemmed from Apple’s own offboarding process rather than improper conduct, and that Apple employees had themselves asked Liu for help locating information, including messages requesting file transfers via AirDrop
- OpenAI’s account of Tan: OpenAI says Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple, has been explicit with his team that no confidential Apple information is to be used, and frames the allegations against him as unsubstantiated
- Timeline: Liu’s last day at Apple was January 22, 2026; Apple’s outside counsel first made contact in February, and Apple did not file suit until roughly five months later
OpenAI’s blog post is a one-sided account from a party to active litigation; Apple’s own filings and any court record would provide the other side of these disputed factual claims.
What happened next
- The matter is now the subject of active litigation between Apple and OpenAI; further developments would come through court filings or subsequent statements from either company
- This is a legal/corporate dispute rather than a product announcement — no ChatGPT or Apple product changes are involved