OpenAI Countersues Apple: Reveals Lawyer Mix-up and Post-Departure Help Requests

In response to Apple's recent trade secret theft lawsuit, OpenAI published a lengthy retort titled "Apple is getting this wrong," dismissing the suit as rushed, careless, and oddly personal. By releasing original emails and iMessage transcripts, OpenAI argues that Apple's claims are riddled with massive discrepancies and that its injunction request is entirely baseless.

Confirmed

Lawyer mix-up: When contacting the individuals allegedly involved, Apple's outside counsel confused the surnames of two Chinese-American executives (Che Chang and Chang Liu) and mistakenly emailed an unrelated person. Apple claimed to have had a phone call with OpenAI's legal team; however, OpenAI's disclosed records show this conversation never happened, and the lawyer was actually thanking them for a misdialed call.
Apple still consulting the implicated employee: OpenAI's released communications reveal that weeks after engineer Chang Liu left Apple, employees continued to ask for his help locating internal documents, explaining product decisions, and answering technical questions. This directly contradicts Apple's narrative that he stole confidential information.

Why it matters

This dispute goes beyond a battle over talent and trade secrets between two tech giants. By directly disclosing detailed internal communications, OpenAI makes Apple's legal foundation appear incredibly weak. If OpenAI's evidence holds up, Apple's lawsuit would be exposed as a product of internal management chaos and legal oversight failures, which could severely damage Apple's reputation and leverage in future legal battles.

2026-08-04 ~ 2026-08-04 · 7 related posts

Primary sources

OpenAI Rebuts Apple Lawsuit by Releasing Raw Emails and Texts Exposing Lawyer Mixup — eyishazyer · 2026-08-04 15:02 (UTC+08:00)
OpenAI fires back at Apple's lawsuit, claiming it's based on misdirected emails and internal flaws — APPSO · 2026-08-04 15:24 (UTC+08:00)

OpenAI says Apple emailed the wrong person in its lawsuit over file access — ChrisGPT · 2026-08-04
OpenAI Hits Back at Apple's Lawsuit: Cites Misdirected Emails and Access Flaws — 赛博禅心 · 2026-08-04
Apple Sued OpenAI for Trade Secret Theft, But Kept Asking the Engineer for Help — kimmonismus · 2026-08-04
Apple's Trade Secret Lawsuit Twists: OpenAI Reveals Apple Kept Asking Ex-Employee for Help — Left-Hotel904 · 2026-08-04
OpenAI Publishes Emails and Messages Behind Apple Lawsuit — SimplyAnnisa · 2026-08-04

2 near-duplicate retellings: eyishazyer · APPSO