OpenAI has released internal correspondence to refute Apple's allegations in a recent lawsuit, asserting that the tech giant's legal team made significant errors in their initial outreach. The company argues that Apple's claims regarding former employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan are based on a miscommunication where lawyers emailed the wrong person and falsely claimed prior discussions.
- Apple's outside counsel admitted to emailing OpenAI's General Counsel by mistake due to similar last names, while also conceding that a claimed discussion with OpenAI's legal team never occurred.
- The lawsuit alleges Chang Liu accessed confidential information after leaving Apple, but OpenAI states Apple employees actively asked him for help locating files and failed to manage system access properly upon his departure.
- Tang Tan, a former Apple leader of 24 years, is accused of seeking trade secrets, though OpenAI maintains he has always been clear about not wanting or using confidential data from other companies.
- Apple requested a preliminary injunction based on these allegations, which OpenAI describes as unnecessary since they do not possess the alleged trade secrets.
OpenAI states it wishes to resolve the matter cooperatively but finds Apple's narrative inaccurate and its legal requests unfounded.