OpenAI fiercely responds to Apple (AAPL.US) “stealing secrets” accusations: the lawsuit covers up its AI failure in order to stop the flow of talent

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the legal battle between ChatGPT developers and iPhone manufacturer Apple took a critical turn on Monday over a trade secret dispute that shook Silicon Valley. OpenAI officially submitted documents to the San Jose District Court in California on Monday (August 31) local time, strictly denying Apple's (AAPL.US) accusation of stealing trade secrets, saying that the dispute was “a mess caused by Apple itself,” and accusing Apple of trying to use lawsuits to hinder the development of potential competitors and prevent the free movement of employees.

Former allies disagree: from “AI marriage” to “court confrontation”

This legal war, sparked by the “formation” of more than 400 former Apple employees who “formed a system” to change jobs, not only completely opposed the AI allies in the past, but also pushed California's law prohibiting competition restrictions into extreme conflict with the harsh reality of the AI hardware arms race.

Just two years ago, Apple and OpenAI were an enviable pair of AI “allies” — the two sides reached a partnership aimed at expanding ChatGPT's influence through Siri and helping Apple gain a foothold in the field of artificial intelligence. However, as competition in the AI industry heats up, this relationship deteriorated rapidly.

The trigger was OpenAI's ambition for consumer-grade hardware. Analysts believe that once the phone or other device being developed by OpenAI is successful, it will directly divert the attention of iPhone users. In order to quickly make up for the hardware shortcoming, OpenAI not only spent about 6.5 billion US dollars to acquire the hardware company iO Products, but also launched a “targeted exploration” of Apple's hardware engineering team.

Apple's “Irrefutable Proof” and Allegations: Systematic Confidential Theft

On July 10 of this year, Apple filed a 41-page lawsuit in the Northern District of California federal court, formally suing OpenAI, its chief hardware officer Tang Tan, former Apple Systems electrical engineer Chang Liu, and hardware subsidiary iO Products. Apple revealed a number of specific allegations in the lawsuit:

“Insider” after leaving his job: Apple accuses Liu of not returning his work equipment according to regulations when he left his job, and that he was still able to access the company's cloud storage within a few weeks after leaving his job and download dozens of high-density engineering documents, including thousands of pages of the main logic board manufacturing and testing process.

The interview is an intelligence station: Apple accuses Tan that when interviewing Apple employees, he asked the other party to show confidential internal hardware components such as batteries and main logic boards involved in the development for internal display in OpenAI, not just commercially available parts.

Double loss of talent and technology: Apple pointed out that by the time the lawsuit was filed, more than 400 former Apple employees had joined OpenAI, covering various core positions such as hardware design and supply chain management.

Entering September, the flames of war further escalated. Apple revealed in the latest evidence submitted on Monday (August 31) that Liu kept the MacBook computer distributed by the company two months after leaving his job, and downloaded Apple's confidential circuit schematics in March of this year to use it for OpenAI's artificial intelligence agent training. Apple believes that inputting trade secrets into AI models for learning will cause the secrets to be “irreversible and continuously spread.”

OpenAI's Jedi Strikes Back: Apple's “Management Flaw” and California's “Talent Freedom”

Faced with Apple's intense pressure, OpenAI launched a comprehensive counterattack. Its defense strategy directly targeted the weaknesses of Apple's internal management and the core of California's laws.

First, OpenAI claims that it has no interest in Apple's “old technology.” In its motion to dismiss, OpenAI wrote: “OpenAI has no use, need, or desire for Apple's trade secrets. OpenAI is developing new products that are very different from Apple's existing products.”

Second, OpenAI accuses Apple of being responsible for its own poor secrecy measures. OpenAI pointed out that Apple has long encouraged employees to use personal iCloud accounts to access work documents, making it difficult for former employees to distinguish between personal and company information. At the same time, Apple's policy of immediately “escorting employees out” when they leave their jobs does not give employees enough time to return their equipment or hand over their jobs. OpenAI even sharpened: “Employees can leave a company like Apple that is struggling with AI applications and switch to a dynamic innovative startup. Apple cannot use its own hasty procedures to shirk responsibility for its own mess.”

Third, OpenAI moved out of “California law” as a talisman. OpenAI emphasized that California laws and policies not only allow employees to move freely between competitors, but also encourage such mobility. OpenAI accuses Apple of filing a lawsuit to make up for its shortcomings in the talent market and its failure to integrate AI.

A “jihad” that will determine the future pattern of AI hardware

In this lawsuit, Apple is trying to use the Trade Secrets Act to block California law's prohibition of competition. OpenAI, on the other hand, is trying to prove that Apple's secrets are nothing more than outdated hardware knowledge; its real moat lies in AI software.

This is a jihad over AI hardware sovereignty. Apple is trying to defend its decades-long hardware design “bible,” while OpenAI is trying to prove that in an age where AI defines hardware, the old physical laws have failed. The final course of the case will depend not only on evidence defense in court, but also on Silicon Valley's profound game of defining the future of “talent, technology, and innovation.”