The company calls the suit "baseless" and faults Apple's lawyers for emailing the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names, for falsely claiming they had discussed the allegations with OpenAI's general counsel, and for waiting five months to sue.
On August 3 OpenAI published its public response to the lawsuit Apple filed on July 10, 2026, calling it outright a "baseless lawsuit".
OpenAI's procedural objections: that Apple's lawyers emailed the wrong person after confusing two Asian last names; that they falsely claimed to have discussed the allegations with OpenAI's general counsel; and that they waited five months from the events before filing.
On the individuals named: OpenAI points out that Chang Liu left Apple on January 22, 2026, and that Tang Tan served the company for more than 24 years.
Why it matters: talent litigation between tech giants is the other face of the AI race. When a handful of engineers can move the product calendar of a three-trillion-dollar company, contracts and trade secrets become the battleground.
Go to OpenAI's response →Source: OpenAI
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