OpenAI has asked a federal judge to dismiss Apple's lawsuit accusing it of stealing trade secrets, calling the allegations "meritless." Lawyers for OpenAI said Apple's suit twists the actions of its employees, defending Chief Hardware Officer Tang Yew Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple before leaving to co-found io Products with former Apple design chief Jony Ive. io merged with OpenAI in July 2025.

OpenAI also defended senior systems engineer Chang Liu, one of two former Apple employees named in the suit. Apple claims Liu accessed confidential hardware files over several weeks after finding an authentication bug. OpenAI said Liu was simply helping a former Apple colleague and published excerpts of text messages backing that account. The 31-page filing argues Apple never properly identified protectable trade secrets and frames the case as Apple trying to cover for its own struggles.

The motion follows Apple's July lawsuit accusing OpenAI of running a scheme to pull confidential product information from job candidates and new hires. Apple claims more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI. Apple escalated further this week, asking for a preliminary injunction and expedited discovery targeting Liu, Tan, and OpenAI employee Yu-Ting Peng. OpenAI called the injunction request "based on false information" and has until August 17 to formally respond, with a hearing set for October 1.