It is about secrets, OpenAI sued Apple

Another turn has taken place in the legal battle between Apple and OpenAI – reports Reuters. In a new federal court filing, OpenAI alleged that a former employee transferred more than a hundred confidential files to their personal accounts, which were connected to a leaked device. Later, this employee allegedly shared information about the product with Apple executives. In the filing submitted to the California federal court in San Jose, OpenAI asserted that this occurred several months earlier, and how interesting that Apple is now "giving a new impetus to artificial intelligence-powered products" (referring to the Apple HomeView display). According to the filing, the employee had previously worked at Apple before joining OpenAI, where they remained for only six months before returning to iPhone manufacturing. OpenAI also claims that the files contained at least detailed pictures of a leaked device, as well as engineering data, manufacturing details, and supplier information. Some files were allegedly forwarded on June 2nd, the employee's last day of work. They also claim that the former employee presented the product plans to Apple executives, including the deputy who is responsible for Apple's Asian operations. "OpenAI is very concerned that trade secrets and confidential information will now be circulating within Apple, where Apple engineers will shape Apple's next products based on OpenAI's confidential and innovative work," stated the owner of ChatGPT in their filing. They accuse Apple of stealing trade secrets, which is a serious blow to OpenAI's hardware plans. Apple stated that they have guidelines and procedures that ensure that new employees do not use the confidential information of previous employers, and they found no evidence to support OpenAI's claims. Part of the document submitted in recent days is the ongoing trade secret litigation initiated by Apple at the beginning of the year, in which they claim that employees left and took confidential information to the OpenAI hardware division. OpenAI denied these allegations. The relationship between the two companies began to deteriorate when OpenAI entered the consumer hardware market, which Apple has long dominated. The AI company did not want to get to users through the assets of other companies forever. However, if people will communicate with an AI assistant in the future that operates on their own devices, then the company that provides this device and intelligence will have a much more direct connection with them. This was also the goal of OpenAI, as they acquired io, the former Apple design leader Jony Ive founded hardware startup, for $6.5 billion the previous year. (io is also listed as a defendant in the Apple lawsuit.) The deterioration of the relationship was also contributed to by the fact that while Apple and OpenAI previously partnered to integrate ChatGPT into Apple products, Apple announced at the beginning of the year that they would update with Google's Gemini models, and severed ties with the startup led by Sam Altman. With their current filing, OpenAI wants to show that it is not only Apple that may have compromised the confidential information. However, from OpenAI's current opposing claims, Apple's previous accusations have not automatically become valid. But of course, OpenAI's new statements are also not proven just by being in a court filing. Reuters reported that they plan to settle the case by October 2027, although OpenAI says they are ready sooner. In any case, the parties are currently gathering evidence and examining data. The court will have to decide which statements are provable and what legal consequences they entail. If you want to know more about similar things in the future, like the HVG Tech column, like the Facebook page.