Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and two former employees, alleging a systematic theft of intellectual property. The suit claims that Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, a former Vice President of Product Design for iPhone and Apple Watch, stole proprietary data, engineering presentations, and technical specifications after leaving Apple. Tan, who spent 24 years at Apple, allegedly emailed himself supplier information and directed candidates to share Apple product details during interviews with OpenAI.

Apple's filing details Liu's alleged actions, including failing to return company hardware and exploiting an authentication bug to access shared network folders. He reportedly downloaded "dozens" of confidential files related to unreleased products. The lawsuit states that OpenAI did not respond to Apple's inquiries about the alleged data breaches and the hires of these former employees.

The tech giant asserts that this constitutes a concerted effort to exploit Apple's confidential information, impacting their development of breakthrough technologies. Apple is seeking an injunction against the use of its intellectual property, the return of stolen property, and unspecified damages and royalties. This legal action underscores the intense competition and concerns over intellectual property protection in the rapidly evolving AI sector.