Apple sues OpenAI, accuses ex-employees of stealing trade secrets
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Apple sues OpenAI, ex-employees, alleging systematic theft of hardware trade secrets.
Apple's complaint alleges former employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan stole trade secrets for OpenAI. Liu, an ex-Apple engineer, kept an Apple laptop, exploited a bug to access and download dozens of confidential files, and coached a colleague on evading security. Tan, OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer and former Apple VP, allegedly used Apple's internal project names in interviews, instructed candidates to bring Apple parts for "show and tell," and shared Apple's departure security procedures with new hires. OpenAI is also accused of directing a supplier to use an Apple-trade-secret metal-finishing technique under false pretenses.
What commenters are saying
Top commenters find the evidence damning, particularly OpenAI's alleged instructions on evading Apple's security and the misuse of a specific metal-finishing technique. A common sentiment is astonishment at the brazenness: the ex-employees documented their actions, with Liu exclaiming "LOL" about his unauthorized access. Some debate the ethics of trade secret law versus employee expertise, with a few arguing that knowledge in an employee's head should not be proprietary, but most agree the specific acts described (copying files, hiding intent) cross a clear line. One commenter compares the scandal to Google's lawsuit against Uber over self-driving car secrets.