Apple says former employees who left for OpenAI took its hardware secrets with them — and that OpenAI built its recruiting around extracting more. This is a corporate lawsuit, not a class action: there is nothing for consumers to claim.
Allegations Only · Unproven Complaint
This article describes a civil complaint filed by Apple. The statements below are Apple's unproven allegations. OpenAI, io Products, Tang Tan, and Chang Liu have not been found liable, the defendants deny wrongdoing and have moved to dismiss the case, and no court has ruled on whether Apple's claims are true. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
On July 10, 2026, Apple Inc. filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California accusing OpenAI and several current and former OpenAI personnel of stealing Apple's hardware trade secrets. The case, captioned Apple Inc. v. Chang Liu, Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI Group PBC, and io Products, LLC (Case No. 5:26-cv-07078), brings claims under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act plus breach-of-contract claims against two former Apple employees.Apple alleges that as OpenAI raced to build its first consumer hardware device, it recruited scores of Apple engineers and executives and used their knowledge of Apple's confidential engineering, manufacturing, and supply-chain information to jump-start its own hardware effort. Apple claims the conduct ranges from an individual engineer downloading confidential files after leaving, to OpenAI structuring its job interviews to extract Apple's secrets, to a trusted Apple supplier being asked to perform a proprietary Apple manufacturing technique for OpenAI. All of it is alleged; none of it has been proven.
Who Apple Is Suing
Apple names five defendants in the complaint:- Chang Liu — a former Apple Senior System Electrical Engineer of about eight years who, Apple says, left for OpenAI in January 2026.
- Tang Yew Tan (Tang Tan) — a 24-year Apple veteran and former Vice President of Product Design for iPhone and Apple Watch, now OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer.
- OpenAI Foundation (formerly OpenAI, Inc.) and OpenAI Group PBC — the nonprofit and public-benefit corporation Apple refers to collectively as "OpenAI."
- io Products, LLC — a hardware venture co-founded by Mr. Tan and other former Apple leaders that OpenAI announced it was acquiring in May 2025 for roughly $6.5 billion. Apple alleges io operates as an alter ego of OpenAI.
Apple is represented by the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Both individual defendants signed Apple's Intellectual Property Agreement (IPA) as a condition of employment, which Apple says binds them to confidentiality and return-of-property obligations that survive their departure.
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What Apple Alleges About Chang Liu
Apple's complaint centers much of its detail on Mr. Liu. According to Apple, after he left in January 2026 he did not respond to Apple's exit outreach and failed to return at least one Apple-issued work laptop. Apple alleges that on or around February 9, 2026 — weeks after his departure — Mr. Liu discovered he could still reach Apple's cloud-based network storage because of a then-unknown authentication bug, and that rather than report it he exploited it.Apple says Mr. Liu then selected, accessed, and downloaded dozens of confidential files, including a compilation exceeding a thousand pages and a presentation on the manufacture and testing of multi-layer logic boards. Apple also alleges he coached a then-Apple colleague on how to copy files "to avoid trouble with the security team," advised her on which confidential materials to study before her OpenAI interview, and moved their conversations to a separate messaging app to avoid detection. Apple quotes messages in which, it says, Mr. Liu called his access "so funny." Apple states it fixed the authentication bug after discovering it and that, based on server logs, the few other users affected do not appear to have taken confidential information.
What Apple Alleges About Tang Tan and OpenAI's Hiring
Apple alleges that Mr. Tan, as OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer, has "methodically" used Apple's confidential information to benefit OpenAI. According to the complaint, Mr. Tan used Apple internal project code names during OpenAI interviews to ask job candidates about unreleased Apple products, and directed candidates to bring "Actual parts" — batteries, systems-in-package, logic boards, and shields — from their Apple work to interviews for "show and tell" sessions. Apple says one candidate remarked that he "didn't even know we could take those from the office."More broadly, Apple alleges OpenAI's recruiting was structured to extract Apple confidential information: instructing candidates to prepare "Technical Deep Dive" presentations and bring "CAD/design artifacts" and "prototypes," and to discuss subsystem selection, integration tools, and vendor relationships. Apple also alleges Mr. Tan retained an internal Apple document marked "Need to Know" describing employee-departure security procedures, and that OpenAI circulated it to recruits before they gave notice — helping them, Apple says, evade Apple's exit and security reviews. Apple frames all of this as unproven allegation supported by messages found on Apple-issued work devices.
The Supplier and Metal-Finishing Allegations
Apple also alleges OpenAI reached beyond employees to Apple's supply chain. In one example, Apple claims OpenAI — on its own or through io — had a trusted Apple partner perform Apple's proprietary, multi-step metal-finishing technique for OpenAI's benefit, allegedly misleading the partner into believing it had Apple's permission. Apple says that partner is contractually barred from doing such work for other companies. Apple alleges OpenAI also approached another Apple supplier and used insider terminology to ask targeted questions about confidential Apple components. Apple states it gave OpenAI and io no permission or license to use any of its trade secrets.What Apple Is Asking the Court For
Apple seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions to stop the alleged use and disclosure of its trade secrets, orders requiring the defendants to preserve evidence and return Apple's information, damages for its alleged losses and any unjust enrichment, a reasonable royalty in the alternative, exemplary damages for what it calls willful and malicious misappropriation, and attorneys' fees under the Defend Trade Secrets Act. Apple notes that its commercial relationship with OpenAI — the integration of ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence — is governed by a separate written agreement that is not at issue in this case.Apple says it wrote to OpenAI in February 2026 raising concerns that its confidential information could be reaching OpenAI improperly, and that OpenAI did not respond. OpenAI has publicly denied Apple's claims, and no defendant has been found liable. The next section covers what has happened in court since the complaint.
What Has Happened Since the Complaint
The case was reassigned on July 23, 2026 to U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila in San Jose. Since then, both sides have filed in quick succession:- August 3–4, 2026: Apple filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, supported by declarations from engineers and forensic experts, and a separate motion for expedited discovery.
- Early August 2026: OpenAI published a blog post titled "Apple is getting this wrong," calling the suit "careless, aggressive and oddly personal" and stating that it does not have or want any of Apple's trade secrets. The post included messages that OpenAI says contradict Apple's account of Mr. Liu's conduct.
- August 5, 2026: OpenAI, io Products, Mr. Tan and Mr. Liu moved to dismiss Apple's complaint. Apple opposed the motion on August 19, and the defendants replied on August 26.
- August 31, 2026: The defendants filed their opposition to the preliminary injunction motion. Apple filed its reply on September 17.
- October 13, 2026: Judge Davila granted in part, denied in part and deferred in part Apple's motion for expedited discovery, letting Apple obtain some evidence before the normal discovery schedule.
- October 14, 2026: The judge heard argument on the preliminary injunction. According to Bloomberg Law, he said he was "highly likely" to grant Apple an injunction but called Apple's request for a forensic inspection of all devices and repositories a "huge ask." The court's minutes say the parties agreed to submit a stipulation that would make the injunction motion unnecessary.
- October 16, 2026: Judge Davila approved two joint stipulations, one on expedited discovery and one on document preservation and forensic inspection, and found Apple's preliminary injunction motion moot as a result. No injunction was entered, and the stipulation is not a finding that any defendant took Apple's information.
- October 26, 2026: The court entered a stipulated protective order and an order governing discovery of electronically stored information.
As of October 27, 2026, the docket shows no ruling on the defendants' motion to dismiss. The case remains in its early stages, and none of Apple's allegations has been proven.
Read the Complaint
You can read Apple's full complaint below.Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Apple suing OpenAI?
Apple's July 10, 2026 complaint alleges OpenAI, its Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan, former Apple engineer Chang Liu, and io Products misappropriated Apple's hardware trade secrets and breached the confidentiality agreements former Apple employees signed. Apple claims former employees who moved to OpenAI took confidential engineering, manufacturing, and supply-chain information to help OpenAI build consumer hardware. These are allegations; no defendant has been found liable.
Is the Apple v. OpenAI lawsuit a class action?
No. This is a corporate trade secret and breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by Apple Inc. as a single plaintiff against OpenAI, io Products, and two individuals. It is not a class action, there is no class, and there is nothing for consumers to claim.
What does Apple say Chang Liu did?
Apple alleges that after leaving for OpenAI in January 2026, Chang Liu failed to return an Apple work laptop, exploited a previously unknown authentication bug to reach Apple's network storage, and downloaded dozens of confidential hardware files. Apple also alleges he coached a then-Apple colleague on copying files and moved their conversations to a separate messaging app to avoid detection. These claims are unproven allegations from Apple's complaint.
What is io Products and why is it named?
io Products is a hardware venture co-founded by former Apple executives, including Tang Tan, that OpenAI announced it was acquiring in May 2025 for about $6.5 billion. Apple names io as a defendant and alleges it operates as an alter ego of OpenAI, designing hardware devices for OpenAI.
Did the court grant Apple an injunction against OpenAI?
No. Judge Edward J. Davila heard Apple's preliminary injunction motion on October 14, 2026. Two days later he approved joint stipulations on document preservation, forensic inspection and expedited discovery, and found the injunction motion moot as a result. No injunction has been entered, and the defendants' motion to dismiss had not been decided as of October 27, 2026.
Can I file a claim in the Apple v. OpenAI case?
No. There is no settlement, no certified class, and no claim form. This is a dispute between Apple and the defendants over trade secrets and contracts, so there is nothing for the public to claim.
For related coverage, see our tracker of OpenAI and ChatGPT lawsuits and class actions, the ChatGPT privacy class action over Meta and Google tracking, and our explainer on the U.S. government's antitrust suit against Apple.
Sources
- Complaint — Apple Inc. v. Chang Liu, et al., No. 5:26-cv-07078 (N.D. Cal. July 10, 2026)
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division — Case No. 5:26-cv-07078
- Docket — Apple Inc. v. Liu, No. 5:26-cv-07078 (N.D. Cal.), via CourtListener (ECF Nos. 38, 49, 59, 97, 175, 178, 188, 189, 195, 196)
- Bloomberg Law — "Apple-OpenAI Judge Says He's 'Likely' to Side With iPhone Maker" (Oct. 14, 2026)
- Bloomberg Law — "Apple Wins Early Access to OpenAI Files in Trade Secrets Suit" (Oct. 2026)
- PC Gamer — OpenAI calls out Apple's "careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit" (Aug. 2026)
