Apple sues over 40 former OpenAI employees in trade secrets lawsuit
Follow UsApple asks former employees at OpenAI to preserve records for an ongoing lawsuit.
Apple claims OpenAI benefited from confidential information through former engineers.
OpenAI denies the allegations and says there is no supporting evidence.
Apple had reportedly sent legal letters to its former employees who now work at OpenAI. The company is asking its recipients to keep emails, messages, and other records preserved, as they can be used as evidence in court as the legal fight between the two AI giants drags on. The iPhone maker claims OpenAI gained access to its confidential hardware and product development information by hiring several of its former engineers. OpenAI has denied the allegations, saying it has not seen any evidence to support Apple’s claims. Here’s everything you need to know about the recent legal letter Apple sent to its former employees working at OpenAI.
SurveyApple takes legal action
According to Financial Times, Apple has sent legal preservation letters to around 40 of its former employees who are now working at the Sam Altman-led artificial intelligence company OpenAI. With the legal letters, the Cupertino tech giant had asked its former employees to keep all the documents, emails, messages, and other communications preserved that could be important to the trade secret lawsuit as it moves forward. This is not something new, as such letters are commonly used to ensure that potential evidence is not deleted or lost before legal proceedings continue.
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Apple alleges
Last week Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the AI company of benefiting from confidential information linked to its hardware engineering and product development efforts after they hired aggressively from Apple. The company claims that the alleged misuse of trade secrets was not limited to a few isolated incidents.
Tang Tan, the current OpenAI Chief Hardware Officer, and Chang Liu, who is also currently working on the hardware team of OpenAI, are the major names included in the lawsuit by Apple. Tang Tan worked at Apple for 24 years and helped design many of its products while Chang Liu worked at Apple as a senior system electrical engineer. Apple alleges that OpenAI recruited key engineers and gained access to proprietary designs, manufacturing processes, and other confidential information.
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OpenAI rejects the claims
OpenAI recently shared a statement with Bloomberg where the company has denied all allegations from Apple. The company said, ‘They are not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit.’
Apple’s lawsuit also states that more than 400 former Apple employees are now working at OpenAI. The company argues that the evidence uncovered so far may represent only the beginning of a much larger issue.
Apple is asking for an injunction that will force OpenAI to stop using any information provided by Apple in developing their AI hardware device. Moreover, Apple is asking for compensatory and punitive damages, and it has already sued Tang Tan and Chang Liu for breaching their employment agreements. This case will definitely be going on, and both sides will have their preparations for trial.
