OpenAI accuses former employee of taking 100 confidential files to Apple
US artificial intelligence company OpenAI has alleged that a former employee who left the company to return to Apple took more than 100 confidential documents related to a device still under development.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI made the allegation in a filing submitted as part of its ongoing lawsuit against Apple.
In the filing, OpenAI alleged that the former employee took more than 100 confidential documents to Apple, including engineering and manufacturing data, supplier information and internal project documents related to an unreleased device still under development, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.
OpenAI claimed that the former employee sent the documents to a personal account on June 2, his last day at the company, before returning to Apple, where he had previously worked.
OpenAI also argued in the filing that the former employee had presented the company's product plans to Apple's senior executives. It claimed that this information may have helped Apple advance its plans for AI-powered products, including smart home devices announced by the company on Tuesday.
Apple denied the allegations, arguing that OpenAI had provided no evidence to support its claims and suggesting that they were intended to distract attention from another ongoing lawsuit between the two companies.
Apple sues OpenAI over alleged theft of trade secrets
In July, US technology giant Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of stealing its trade secrets and confidential information to develop new consumer hardware.
Apple argued that OpenAI's hardware strategy was “built entirely on stolen trade secrets” and was “unlawful.” It also accused former Apple employees Tang Yew Tan and Chang Liu, who joined OpenAI.
According to the lawsuit, Tang Yew Tan had asked candidates applying for jobs at OpenAI to bring confidential Apple hardware components to interviews while he was still employed by Apple. Chang Liu allegedly accessed Apple's network through a former colleague's computer and downloaded dozens of confidential hardware files related to unreleased products.
The filing also alleged that OpenAI provided employees preparing to leave Apple with specific tactics to extend their access to the company's systems. In addition, OpenAI allegedly asked hardware manufacturers to apply a proprietary metal-finishing technique invented by Apple, misleading them into believing that Apple had authorized its use.
In the lawsuit, Apple requested an immediate halt to the use of its trade secrets, the return of all confidential and proprietary materials, and financial compensation for the damages it had suffered.
Photo: Instagram/OPENAI
