Apple recently filed a trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI. In its complaint, the iPhone-maker claimed that OpenAI encouraged Apple employees to share information, drawings and other confidential data linked to upcoming products. Several senior names are named in the lawsuit, including OpenAI chief hardware officer Tang Tan, who previously worked as Apple’s vice president of product design, and former Apple hardware engineer Chang Liu, who joined OpenAI earlier this year. However, one major name has been missing from the case: former Apple design chief Jony Ive. Now, a report sheds light on why Apple might have avoided naming him in the lawsuit.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has reasons for not naming Ive in the lawsuit, even though he is one of the most well-known faces behind OpenAI’s hardware plans. Ive’s role is mainly focused on product design. He is not believed to be involved in the development of OpenAI’s hardware products. Instead, that responsibility is said to belong to Tan.
As I mentioned before, Tan is one of the people named in Apple’s lawsuit. According to the report, Apple believes he plays a much bigger role in the hardware project than Ive. The lawsuit also focuses on Tan’s alleged actions. In the lawsuit, Apple claimed that Tan encouraged potential hires to bring product prototypes and design-related material with them from Apple.
Gurman also said Apple’s long relationship with Ive is another reason the company has kept him out of the legal case. Ive spent a long time at Apple and helped design some of its most iconic products.
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Another factor is Ive’s close relationship with Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs. According to Gurman, Powell Jobs continues to have a good relationship with Apple’s leadership, including CEO Tim Cook and hardware chief John Ternus. Suing Ive can affect those relationships and may also hurt Apple’s reputation.
Even after leaving Apple in 2019, Ive continued working with the company as a consultant until 2022. During that time, several Apple designers also left the company to join his new venture. Despite those connections, Apple has decided not to include Ive in the lawsuit. Gurman said the company can continue its legal fight against OpenAI and its hardware team without naming its former design chief. By focusing on the employees it directly accuses of wrongdoing, Apple can pursue its case while avoiding unnecessary damage to its own reputation.