OpenAI is hitting back hard in Apple’s trade-secrets case over a former Apple engineer who allegedly carried internal material toward OpenAI. In filings covered by 9to5Mac and Reuters, OpenAI argues employees can leave a company “that has struggled to adopt AI” for a startup building new products — and that Apple failed to protect its own secrets under the standards needed to win a misappropriation claim.
Coverage notes OpenAI is not simply denying that confidential Apple information appeared in the dispute; it is shifting blame onto Apple’s security and retention practices. Apple previously highlighted forensic analysis of a MacBook tied to the employee. For product and talent watchers, this is the rare public AI-lab vs. platform legal fight spilling into day-to-day headlines the same week Apple’s new CEO era begins.
Source: https://9to5mac.com/2026/09/01/openai-calls-trade-secret-dispute-a-mess-of-apples-own-making/