OpenAI Goes Public Against Apple: Counsel Emailed the Wrong Person, Core Claims Contradicted by Evidence
OpenAI published a formal rebuttal to Apple’s trade secret lawsuit on openai.com on August 4, 2026 under the title “Apple is getting this wrong.” The post disputes the factual basis of multiple claims Apple made in both its original complaint and a subsequent court filing, and releases primary documents — emails and messages — as evidence. It is the most substantive public response OpenAI has made since Apple filed suit.
The Procedural Dispute
Apple claimed in court that it attempted to contact OpenAI in February and received no response. OpenAI’s rebuttal states that Apple’s outside lawyers emailed the wrong person: they misidentified a staff member after confusing two Asian surnames. Apple conceded this point in its latest filing, according to OpenAI.
Apple also claimed a discussion took place with OpenAI’s General Counsel. OpenAI states that meeting never happened and that Apple now concedes this in its latest filing, while continuing to omit that the specific allegations in the lawsuit were never raised during the interactions that did occur. Apple’s own lawyers told OpenAI during that period that they were “resolving any issues.” After that conversation, OpenAI heard nothing for five months — until the lawsuit was filed.
Chang Liu: What Apple Omitted
Apple accuses Chang Liu of accessing Apple confidential information after leaving the company. OpenAI’s rebuttal states that Apple employees reached out to Liu after his departure and asked for his help locating that information. Those messages are released in the post.
OpenAI characterizes the access issue differently: “residual access” — a term Apple now uses to shift blame — is a documented Apple systems problem in which departed employees retain access to internal files despite not requesting or being aware of them. The argument is that Liu was attempting to do the right thing in a situation Apple’s own access management created.
Tang Tan’s 24 Years and an Explicit Instruction
Tang Tan, a second named defendant, is accused of seeking Apple trade secrets. OpenAI states that Tan, who served Apple for over 24 years and was widely recognized as a senior innovator at the company, was explicitly instructed by OpenAI not to use or seek confidential information from prior employers. OpenAI characterizes his conduct as consistent with that instruction.
Where Things Stand
OpenAI says it has offered to work with Apple to resolve the lawsuit and received no agreement. The rebuttal concludes that Apple is trying to change its narrative in its latest filing, including by making allegations it had not raised in prior contact.
The post is notable for what it releases: actual email chains and messages, not just characterizations of them. That framing — publish the receipts — signals OpenAI is not treating this as a negotiation to settle quietly. Apple’s legal team has the floor for the next response.
The lawsuit sits against a backdrop already covered here: Apple’s fracture with OpenAI over the ChatGPT-Siri partnership, Apple’s separate trade secret escalation targeting former employees Tang Tan and Chang Liu, and an ongoing battle over departing talent between the two companies that predates the formal legal action.