OpenAI publicly pushes back against Apple lawsuit after new filing

UPDATED 19:01 EDT / AUGUST 04 2026 APPS OpenAI publicly pushes back against Apple lawsuit after new filing by Maria Deutscher OpenAI Group PBC has publicly pushed back against a lawsuit that Apple Inc. filed against it last month. The ChatGPT developer outlined its arguments in a blog post published on Monday. The move came shortly after Apple submitted a new court filing in connection with its litigation. In the document, the company asks the court for expedited evidence collection and a preliminary injunction against OpenAI. Apple filed its lawsuit last month. The complaint accuses OpenAI of stealing intellectual property from the iPhone maker to support its push into the consumer electronics market. According to recent reports, OpenAI plans to launch a line of AI-powered devices that will compete with the iPhone.  The ChatGPT developer’s Monday blog post takes aim at several of the core arguments in the lawsuit. Notably, the company also published correspondence between its employees and Apple staffers. OpenAI says that the chat logs and emails weaken the iPhone maker’s arguments. The lawsuit accuses former Apple engineer Chang Liu of failing to return a company laptop before leaving for OpenAI. Furthermore, Apple claims that Liu downloaded dozens of internal files with sensitive product information. The complaint alleges that he accessed the files using a “rare, previously unknown authentication bug.” According to OpenAI’s blog post, the iPhone maker “now tries to shift the blame to ‘residual access.’” That’s a term for access permissions left active by accident. OpenAI claims that such permissions are a common issue at Apple. The lawsuit also names a second former Apple employee as a plaintiff. Tang Tan was the company’s vice president of product design before joining OpenAI last year. According to the complaint, Tan asked former Apple staffers to bring internal component prototypes to job interviews. OpenAI pushed back against that claim in the blog post and noted that “Tang served Apple for more than 24 years and was widely known as one of the most innovative leaders at the company.” The ChatGPT developer also took issue with a third allegation in the lawsuit. According to the original version of the complaint, Apple reached out to OpenAI before it filed suit and launched the litigation because it received no response. The company has since acknowledged that its outside attorneys emailed the wrong OpenAI employee. Apple on Monday submitted a new motion in connection with its lawsuit. The company is seeking a preliminary injunction that would bar OpenAI from accessing, using or disclosing stolen intellectual property. Additionally, Apple is asking for an expedited discovery process. It’s unclear how the litigation will impact OpenAI’s consumer electronics push. Last month, Bloomberg cited insiders as saying that the company still hopes to launch its first device next year. The gadget is described as a ChatGPT-powered movable smart speaker. It’s believed that OpenAI could follow up the device with a smart lamp, smart glasses and several other products. Image: Unsplash A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE: Support our mission to keep content open and free by engaging with theCUBE community. Join theCUBE’s Alumni Trust Network, where technology leaders connect, share intelligence and create opportunities. 15M+ viewers of theCUBE videos, powering conversations across AI, cloud, cybersecurity and more 11.4k+ theCUBE alumni — Connect with more than 11,400 tech and business leaders shaping the future through a unique trusted-based network. Are you AWS customer?  Support SiliconANGLE Financially by buying