OpenAI pushes back on Apple trade secret lawsuit
OpenAI has issued another statement on the lawsuit, this time suggesting it lacks merit.
Posted:
OpenAI pushes back on Apple trade secret lawsuit
OpenAI pushed back Tuesday against allegations made by Apple in a trade secret lawsuit, suggesting the complaint lacks merit.
βWhile we take these allegations seriously, weβre not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit,β OpenAI said in a statement, first shared by Bloomberg reporter Ed Ludlow on X. βWe believe in fair competition and allowing people the freedom to work wherever they choose, and weβre focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.β
The statement comes several days after Apple filed a lawsuit against the AI lab, alleging that OpenAI employees, who previously worked at the iPhone maker, engaged in a coordinated effort to obtain confidential information and intellectual property. The 41-page complaint, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, contains a string of allegations against OpenAI leadership, including Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan. Before joining OpenAI, Tan was a veteran at Apple, where he worked for 24 years and held top positions, including vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch.
This is the first time OpenAI commented on the case itself. In its initial statement hours after Apple filed its lawsuit, it proclaimed a lack of interest in technology developed by other companies, telling TechCrunch: βWe have no interest in other companiesβ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.β
Apple claims in its lawsuit that its internal investigation uncovered evidence that OpenAI and its partners used the companyβs confidential information as it develops its own hardware product.
Reports, along with OpenAIβs recent acquisition of Jony Iveβs startup io, suggest the company is working on a device that could directly compete with Appleβs business. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that OpenAI is working on a mobile, screen-free smart speaker.
TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI for further comment and will update this article when the company responds.
Related
Latest in AI
Originally published by TechCrunch AI. Aggregated on AIWithGhost for educational purposes β full credit and traffic to the original publisher.