OpenAI counters Apple trade secret lawsuit with chat logs showing Apple employees sought help from ex-colleague

OpenAI has fired back at Apple's trade secret lawsuit by releasing iMessage threads that it says show Apple employees themselves reached out to former engineer Chang Liu for technical information after he left the company. The countermove comes as Apple seeks a preliminary injunction to bar OpenAI and two former employees from accessing or using its confidential data.

According to the chat logs published by OpenAI, Liu's last day at Apple was January 22, 2026. On that same day and in the weeks that followed, Apple employees repeatedly contacted him to ask technical questions and request help tracking down internal files. One message from January 27 shows an Apple employee telling Liu, "Of course, I could ask several folks, but you are the best. Even if you don't work here anymore." Liu responded with details about internal Apple decisions.

Chat logs reveal ongoing contact

The messages show a pattern of continued communication. On February 14, the same employee asked about schematics. On March 5, Liu was added to a group chat with several Apple employees, where he directed them to internal folders and contacts. Liu ended the conversation himself, writing, "Hi, this is highly irregular, please remove me from this thread."

• Apple sued OpenAI in a federal court in California, alleging that Liu improperly accessed confidential information after joining OpenAI and that the company encouraged departing employees to steal files.
• OpenAI argues that "residual access" (continued access to systems after an employee leaves) is a well-known problem at Apple caused by poor access management.
• More than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, according to the complaint, which also ties into OpenAI's hardware ambitions through startup io Products, co-founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive.
• Apple also made errors in its outreach to OpenAI: an outside lawyer hired by Apple wrote to the wrong person because he confused two Asian last names, and claimed to have spoken with OpenAI's General Counsel by phone, which OpenAI says never happened.

Legal implications and next steps

While the chat messages and email blunders make for compelling reading, they do not refute Apple's core accusations. Liu's iMessage threads may show that Apple had its own access management problems, but they do not address the broader claim that OpenAI encouraged new hires to bring proprietary information with them. Apple has asked a U.S. judge for a preliminary injunction barring two former employees and OpenAI from accessing, acquiring, using, or disclosing confidential information.

OpenAI also rejects the allegations against Tang Tan, who spent more than 24 years at Apple and was considered one of its most innovative executives. According to OpenAI, Tan consistently told his team that proprietary information from other companies was neither welcome nor to be used. The case is ongoing, with both sides preparing for further legal arguments in federal court.