OpenAI назвала иск Apple о краже торговых секретов «прогнившим до основания»

On August 10, 2026, OpenAI filed a motion in federal court to dismiss Apple's lawsuit accusing the startup of stealing trade secrets. In court filings, the company called all claims "groundless" and characterized the lawsuit itself as "rotten to its very core."

What exactly does Apple allege?

Apple filed suit against OpenAI in July 2026, claiming that former employees who had moved to the startup took confidential documents with them and used them to advance ChatGPT's company projects. According to Apple, the matter concerns proprietary technical developments and business materials transferred to a competitor without any authorization.

The lawsuit is being called "landmark" for the American AI industry — it is one of the first large-scale legal disputes directly addressing the practice of talent moving from traditional technology corporations to AI startups.

• Apple's lawsuit was filed in July 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• The defendant is OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT
• The parties involved are former Apple employees who moved to work at OpenAI
• The core claim is the removal of confidential documents and their use in OpenAI's interests
• OpenAI's motion to dismiss was filed on August 10, 2026

How OpenAI responds to the allegations

OpenAI categorically rejects all claims and asks the court to close the case before a full trial begins. The startup builds its defense on two arguments.

First: Apple incorrectly characterizes the movement of specialists as theft. In OpenAI's view, changing employers is standard practice in the technology industry, not an unlawful act. There was no intentional theft of documents, the company asserts.

Second: Apple is labeling ordinary, "general" product development information as "trade secrets." U.S. law requires a company to actively protect the confidentiality of information claiming trade secret status — which, according to OpenAI, Apple failed to do.

"Apple did not take reasonable measures to maintain confidentiality," states

OpenAI's motion filed in court on August 10, 2026.

OpenAI also points out that an employee's accumulated professional knowledge and experience is their lawful possession, which they are entitled to carry with them when changing jobs. The line is crossed only when the intentional removal of specific protected documents is involved — a distinction that, in the startup's view, Apple deliberately ignores in its claims.

"The lawsuit is rotten to its very core," is the characterization

OpenAI uses in official court documents, as reported by The Verge.

What this means for the AI industry

The Apple v. OpenAI case is setting a precedent for the entire technology industry. The court will need to draw the line between protected trade secrets and an employee's legitimate professional experience — and determine how strictly corporations are entitled to restrict the movement of AI talent to competitors.

The outcome of the proceedings could affect hiring practices across the industry: the flow of specialists between AI labs, research divisions, and startups in the U.S. is constant, and such disputes risk becoming the norm rather than the exception.