OpenAI Accuses Former Employee of Taking Confidential Documents to Apple
OpenAI has submitted a supplemental document to the federal court in San Jose, California on Wednesday (October 14th) regarding a commercial secret dispute with Apple, accusing a former employee of taking over 100 documents related to OpenAI’s product planning before returning to Apple, and showing this highly confidential information to Apple management.
In the supplemental document, OpenAI stated that through recent evidence gathering in relation to the ongoing lawsuit, the company found that a former employee had sent over 100 “highly confidential documents” to their personal account, involving at least one unreleased and still under development device by OpenAI. The employee had jumped from Apple to OpenAI, and after working at OpenAI for six months, returned to Apple.
The documents in question, according to OpenAI, included detailed images of unreleased devices, highly confidential engineering and manufacturing data about these devices, supplier information and project documents, product appearance finishing standards, as well as reports on hardware component coatings and sealing processes. Some of these documents were sent on the former employee’s last day at OpenAI. Furthermore, OpenAI learned that this former employee had shown OpenAI’s product planning to Apple’s senior leadership, including the Vice President responsible for operations in Asia, several months ago. Apple, armed with this information, is now actively advancing their artificial intelligence products. OpenAI is very concerned that its trade secrets and confidential information are now spreading within Apple, allowing Apple engineers to leverage OpenAI’s confidential information and innovative results for Apple’s upcoming products.
According to the court document, OpenAI has directly approached Apple regarding the issue, but Apple has not yet provided the assurances demanded by OpenAI: to confirm that they do not possess or use OpenAI’s trade secrets and confidential information.
As reported by Reuters, Apple stated that the company has policies and procedures in place to ensure that new employees do not use confidential information from their previous employers, and they claim to have found no evidence supporting OpenAI’s accusations.
This is part of the commercial secret dispute between OpenAI and Apple. In July of this year, Apple had sued OpenAI and two Chinese employees, Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan. Tan Yew Tan, who had worked at Apple for 24 years before joining OpenAI, previously served as the Vice President of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch; Chang Liu had been a senior system electrical engineer at Apple for 8 years. Apple accused Tan Yew Tan and Chang Liu of stealing Apple’s trade secrets to benefit OpenAI. OpenAI denied these accusations.
In the lawsuit, Apple alleged that a series of theft actions were led by Tan Yew Tan, with Chang Liu playing a key role in this ongoing theft (related reading: Apple Sues OpenAI and Two Chinese Employees for Stealing Trade Secrets).
Earlier this week, federal judge Edward Davila approved some of Apple’s requests in the lawsuit, granting them early access to review OpenAI’s electronic documents.
On Wednesday (October 14th), OpenAI, as the defendant, submitted a supplemental document to the court in response to the commercial secret lawsuit filed by Apple in July, informing the court that their latest investigation uncovered that their former employee took away hundreds of confidential documents and returned to work at Apple. OpenAI has indicated they may counter-sue regarding these actions.