ChatGPT maker OpenAI wants Apple’s lawsuit dismissed, calling it “rotten to the core” and a pretext for how the firm is failing in AI and at keeping its staff.
While Apple went back to court to ask that its lawsuit against OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft be sped up, OpenAI initially turned to the court of public opinion. But it has now responded to Apple’s latest filing with one of its own, presented to a US judge with the request that the case be dismissed.
According to Reuters, the filing first denies Apple’s claims of trade secret theft by arguing that it is not making anything that would benefit from such theft.
“OpenAI has no use, need or desire for Apple’s trade secrets,” says the filing. “OpenAI is building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple.”
The filing then goes on to more specifically say that Apple’s case “fails to sufficiently describe the information for which it claims trade secret protection.” It even says that Apple has failed to prove that it owns “a protectable trade secret,” or to “plausibly allege misappropriation” by OpenAI.
Apple does unquestionably have trade secrets, though. And while OpenAI says Apple has only listed “generalized product development categories,” it would be unlikely to reveal any further detail in filings that were always going to be made public.
Apple’s real reasons for suing
Having sought to downplay Apple’s allegations, OpenAI’s new filing then sets out to present itself as the blameless victim of Apple’s failures.
“Apple should not be permitted to use a baseless and pretextual lawsuit to make up for its shortcomings in the market for talent and retaining its employees,” continued the filing, “and its failures to integrate AI into its products.”
Returning to its repeated insistence that messages prove its employees only helped Apple, OpenAI says that the company is trying to spin the facts. Instead of ex-Apple employee Tang Tan keeping confidential documents, the “opposite is true and at least equally plausible.”
“Mr. Tan retained this information to help ensure that new employees coming from Apple followed Apple’s offboarding procedures and did not retain any Apple confidential information,” says the filing.
