Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI. He claims that the company obtained his trade secrets

Apple has embarked on one of the biggest legal battles in recent years. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and two former employees Applu, which he accuses of long-term theft of confidential informationmacand their use in developing hardware for OpenAI. If the allegations are confirmed, it could be one of the most serious industrial espionage cases in the history of the technology sector.

One of the main accused is Tang Yew Tan, who in Applu spent 24 years serving as vice president of product design for iPhone a Apple WatchAfter his departure, he took over as head of hardware development at OpenAI. The second defendant is former employee Chang Liu, who according to Applu continued to access the company's internal systems without authorization after leaving the company.

Apple In more than 100 pages of court documents, the lawsuit alleges that Liu failed to return a work device that was still authorized to access the company network. According to the lawsuit, he even exploited a flaw in the authentication system to gain access to shared folders containing internal documents. He then allegedly downloaded dozens of files containing informationmacabout previously unpresented products, technical specifications, design documentation and presentations intended only for employees.

But the allegations against Tan are even more serious. Apple tvHe regrets that he started forwarding information several months before leaving.macabout suppliers, production processes and upcoming products on private accounts. At the same time, when recruiting new employees for OpenAI, he was supposed to require them to bring previously unpresented components from Applu, for example batteries, back covers, metal parts of the structure or other hardware components. The goal was to obtain the most up-to-date informationmacabout product development.

According to the lawsuit, Tan also instructed new employees to Applu did not say that they were heading to OpenAI. Apple also claims that OpenAI has repeatedly contacted them asking for an explanation of how the company protects confidential information.mace obtained from new employees. However, he allegedly never received a response.

Apple now demands an immediate halt to the use of the allegedly stolen materials, their return, financial compensation and other damages from the court. The dispute will be resolved in federal court in San Jose, California, and given the position of both companies, it can be expected that this will be one of the most closely watched technological trials in the coming years. If the allegations are confirmed, it could significantly affect not only the relations between Applema OpenAI, but also the entire technology industry, in which the protection of trade secrets is one of the fundamental pillars of competition.