Apple has urged a federal judge to reject OpenAI's motion to dismiss its trade secrets lawsuit, arguing the company's defense relies on "distortion, speculation, and improper extrinsic evidence." Apple sued OpenAI in July, accusing the company of a scheme to extract confidential product information from former Apple employees who became job candidates and hires, with over 400 former Apple employees now at OpenAI.

In a 32-page opposition brief, Apple restates allegations against former engineer Chang Liu and OpenAI hardware chief Tan Yew Tan. Apple claims Liu exploited an authentication bug to access Apple's network storage and downloaded confidential engineering files, including manufacturing presentations. Regarding Tan, Apple alleges he used internal codenames to question candidates about unreleased products and asked an employee to bring components for a "show and tell" session.

Apple counters OpenAI's argument that it failed to identify protectable trade secrets, citing the Ninth Circuit's 2025 Quintara decision. The company argues these are fact disputes for later resolution and that publicly detailing trade secrets would undermine their protection. Apple also objects to OpenAI's inclusion of text messages and other materials not part of the original complaint.

Judge Edward J. Davila is scheduled to hear arguments on October 1.