Apple's lawsuit accuses OpenAI of stealing trade secrets by poaching engineers, echoing past cases Apple itself defended. The complaint omits Jony Ive despite his role in hardware.
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Apple filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the ChatGPT maker of recruiting Apple engineers to get access to trade secrets and confidential information, Business Insider reported. The lawsuit claims OpenAI used the data to speed up development of a consumer device that could compete with the iPhone.
The case mirrors accusations Apple has faced in the past. Medical device maker Masimo alleged Apple hired its engineers to build the blood oxygen sensor in the Apple Watch. A jury in 2025 ordered Apple to pay $634 million. An import ban on the Apple Watch was later overturned. Battery company A123 Systems also sued over similar hiring practices; the case settled before trial.
Apple's 40-page complaint names two former employees: Tang Tan, a cofounder of io Products, and Chang Liu. Missing from the lawsuit is any reference to Jony Ive, Apple's former design chief who left in 2019 to start io Products. OpenAI acquired io last year and brought on Ive and his team. Business Insider noted that the omission of Ive was unusual, given his role in building the iPhone and his connection to the alleged competitive threat.
The lawsuit argues that OpenAI's hiring crossed the line from normal talent acquisition into trade secret theft. Under California law, employees are free to move between employers, making it difficult to prove misappropriation.
Apple's case could face the same legal hurdles that its own past defendants argued: that general knowledge and skill are not trade secrets, and that hiring talent is legitimate competition. The court will decide whether OpenAI's specific actions violated the law.
The case was assigned to a federal court in California. No trial date has been set.
Apple's legal move comes as the company faces increased competition in AI-powered devices. Apple (AAPL) profile
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