OpenAI says Apple's own security practices undermine its trade secrets case
Newly filed court exhibits show OpenAI's legal strategy in Apple's trade secrets lawsuit: argue that Apple's own security and offboarding practices - including allowing an Apple manager to access a former engineer's iCloud account after he left the company -undermine its claims that the allegedly stolen information was properly protected. OpenAI's motion to dismiss Apple's trade secrets lawsuit, along with newly filed exhibits, reveals the company's legal defense strategy.
Key Takeaways
- Rather than focusing on whether former Apple employees working at OpenAI had accessed certain information, the AI company argues that Apple's own security practices and offboarding procedures weaken its claim that the information qualifies as legally protected "trade secrets.
" Apple's complaint, filed in July , accuses OpenAI of orchestrating a scheme to obtain confidential hardware information from former Apple engineers.
- OpenAI also accuses Apple of omitting the consequences of its own "inexplicable information-management practices" from its original complaint, noting that the company failed to properly secure its systems when employees departed, creating confusion and unwanted access issues that Apple now characterizes as theft.
While this may sound a bit like a "the door was unlocked, so it wasn't really stealing!
- " OpenAI's filing posits that Apple is using this lawsuit to slow down its competitor from innovating in AI-powered hardware, rather than focusing on its own product plans.
"OpenAI has no use, need or desire for Apple's trade secrets," the motion argues.
- Apple should not be permitted to use a baseless and pretextual lawsuit to make up for its shortcomings in the market for talent and retaining its employees, and its failures to integrate AI into its products," the motion says.
Sarah Perez Consumer News Editor Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011.
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Newly filed court exhibits show OpenAI's legal strategy in Apple's trade secrets lawsuit: argue that Apple's own security and offboarding practices - including allowing an Apple manager to access a former engineer's iCloud account after he left the company -undermine its claims that the allegedly stolen information was properly protected. OpenAI's motion to dismiss Apple's trade secrets lawsuit, along with newly filed exhibits, reveals the company's legal defense strategy. Rather than focusing on whether former Apple employees working at OpenAI had accessed certain information, the AI company argues that Apple's own security practices and offboarding procedures weaken its claim that the information qualifies as legally protected "trade secrets.
" Apple's complaint, filed in July , accuses OpenAI of orchestrating a scheme to obtain confidential hardware information from former Apple engineers. This week, Apple asked the court to expedite discovery , saying its internal investigation indicates some additional former employees may have participated in, or witnessed, the alleged theft of trade secrets. In its motion, OpenAI argues that Apple allowed employees to use personal iCloud accounts for work and failed to properly revoke access after they left the company.
It also submitted text message records showing that an Apple manager remained logged into the personal iCloud account of defendant and former Apple engineer Chang Liu after he left the company to transfer files, and later asked him for help with technical questions about Apple projects. OpenAI also accuses Apple of omitting the consequences of its own "inexplicable information-management practices" from its original complaint, noting that the company failed to properly secure its systems when employees departed, creating confusion and unwanted access issues that Apple now characterizes as theft. While this may sound a bit like a "the door was unlocked, so it wasn't really stealing!
For more details please read the original article at TechCrunch AI.
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