OpenAI Calls Apple Trade-Secret Lawsuit 'Baseless' in Escalating Employee Poaching Dispute

NewsData.io · United States · Sep 1, 2026

OpenAI has filed a legal response calling Apple's trade-secret theft lawsuit 'a mess of Apple's own making,' arguing there is nothing unlawful about Apple employees choosing to leave for new jobs at OpenAI. Apple's July lawsuit alleged that OpenAI coordinated the theft of product designs and manufacturing secrets through departing employees, including chief hardware officer Tang Tan. OpenAI countered that Apple's own dysfunctional offboarding processes are to blame, and warned Apple it 'cannot stop the next 400 employees from leaving by filing baseless lawsuits.' The case has direct implications for cross-industry talent recruiting practices and what constitutes permissible candidate interviewing conduct.