OpenAI Blames Apple's Own iCloud Policy in Trade-Secret Suit
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OpenAI has responded to Apple's trade-secret lawsuit, telling a San Jose federal judge that the suit is "a mess of Apple's own making." Filed in US District Court, OpenAI's response shifts blame to Apple's security practices rather than former engineers. This follows Apple's filing alleging a former engineer used its schematic at OpenAI. A hearing for Apple's expedited discovery request is set for October 1.
OpenAI has told a San Jose federal judge that Apple's trade-secret suit against it is "a mess of Apple's own making, and it is trying to blame everyone else." The response, [filed Monday]( https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/openai-says-apple-has-only-itself-blame-trade-secret-fight-2026-09-01/) in US District Court, points the blame back at Apple's own security practices rather than at any conduct by former engineers.
The core argument is about hygiene. OpenAI says Apple encourages employees to use personal iCloud accounts to access work documents, then immediately escorts departing staff off the premises without enough time to return devices, transfer internal files or hand over responsibilities. In that account, the mixing of personal and company data is Apple's own doing.
Apple sued OpenAI and former Apple employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu in July, accusing them of misappropriating trade secrets tied to hardware design, manufacturing and supply-chain operations as Sam Altman's company pushes into consumer devices. Both sides' filings put OpenAI's hiring from Apple at roughly 400 people for that hardware initiative. OpenAI contends the suit is really about slowing a competitor and discouraging further departures, and invokes California law allowing employees to move freely between rivals.
The volley follows [yesterday's coverage]( https://aiweekly.co/alerts/apple-filing-says-ex-engineer-used-its-schematic-at-openai) of Apple's filing about a former engineer allegedly using its schematic at OpenAI, the second Apple-versus-OpenAI story on our tracker in two days. Apple's request for expedited discovery is scheduled for a hearing on October 1.