Calling the accusations "baseless, meritless, and pretextual," OpenAI has asked a federal judge in California to dismiss Apple's trade secrets lawsuit, arguing the case is an attempt by the iPhone maker to stem a talent exodus and deflect from its own AI challenges.
Apple filed the lawsuit in July 2026, alleging that OpenAI and two former Apple employees misappropriated hardware-related trade secrets linked to OpenAI's consumer AI device ambitions.
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"OpenAI has no use, need or desire for Apple's trade secrets. OpenAI is building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple," lawyers for OpenAI wrote in the motion to dismiss filed on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters.
The dispute comes as Apple and OpenAI compete in the rapidly evolving AI hardware space, with analysts speculating that OpenAI is developing its own AI-powered consumer device.
"Apple's complaint fails to sufficiently describe the information for which it claims trade secret protection; its generalised product development categories are not sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss," the filing stated.
OpenAI argued that Apple had failed to establish the existence of a protectable trade secret or plausibly allege that any of the defendants had misappropriated confidential information.
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"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, and its failures to integrate AI into its products," the filing stated.
Despite the legal dispute, the two companies remain commercial partners. Siri can provide ChatGPT responses, and iPhone users can subscribe to ChatGPT directly through Apple's ecosystem.
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