{"id":14002,"date":"2026-08-04T12:40:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T12:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/?p=14002"},"modified":"2026-08-04T12:40:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T12:40:41","slug":"openai-hits-back-at-apple-lawsuit-exposing-email-blunder-and-system-access-flaws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/2026\/08\/04\/openai-hits-back-at-apple-lawsuit-exposing-email-blunder-and-system-access-flaws\/","title":{"rendered":"OpenAI Hits Back at Apple Lawsuit, Exposing Email Blunder and System Access Flaws"},"content":{"rendered":"

OpenAI<\/a> has fired back against Apple<\/a> in an aggressive legal response, publishing internal communications and emails to refute trade secret theft allegations while revealing that Apple sent pre-lawsuit warnings to the wrong individual after confusing two Asian surnames.<\/p>\n

The ChatGPT creator characterized Apple\u2019s July lawsuit as “careless, aggressive and oddly personal.” Apple had accused OpenAI and two former key Apple employees, Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, of orchestrating a trade secret extraction scheme. In its response, OpenAI published direct communications between Liu and his former colleagues, demonstrating that Apple personnel actively reached out to Liu asking for help locating confidential documents after he had already departed the iPhone maker.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s initial complaint claimed Liu had been “surreptitiously [accessing and downloading] dozens of [its] confidential hardware-related files, including voluminous, detailed information about unreleased products, engineering presentations, technical specifications, and proprietary project data.” OpenAI countered that after filing the lawsuit, Apple acknowledged its employees had contacted Liu but tried to “shift the blame to ‘residual access'” without admitting that unrevoked server access is a widespread internal issue caused by Apple’s failure to properly manage system privileges when staff leave the company.<\/p>\n

The dispute centers on high-stakes hardware talent acquisitions as tech giants race to build dedicated AI consumer devices. Tan spent 24 years at Apple as vice president of product design, playing a prominent role in shaping flagship products like the iPhone and Apple Watch before leaving to lead hardware engineering efforts alongside former Apple chief designer Jony Ive and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman<\/a>. Apple alleged Tan directed job candidates to bring “actual parts” to recruitment interviews to solicit trade secrets. OpenAI rejected the claim, stating Tan maintained clear protocols instructing his team never to seek or use proprietary data from former employers.<\/p>\n

OpenAI also debunked Apple’s assertion that it attempted to resolve the matter directly in February without receiving a response, revealing that Apple lawyers failed to reach OpenAI because they emailed an unrelated individual after confusing two different Asian surnames.<\/p>\n

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