{"id":237990,"date":"2026-07-12T07:17:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T07:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/apple-sues-openai-for-trade-secret-theft-lol-i-have-access-says-engineer-who-exposed-the-scandal\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T07:17:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T07:17:57","slug":"apple-sues-openai-for-trade-secret-theft-lol-i-have-access-says-engineer-who-exposed-the-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/apple-sues-openai-for-trade-secret-theft-lol-i-have-access-says-engineer-who-exposed-the-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Sues OpenAI for Trade Secret Theft: “Lol, I Have Access,” Says Engineer Who Exposed the Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Apple Sues OpenAI: An Engineer’s Role in the Scandal<\/h2>\n

This weekend, a dramatic legal battle unfolded as Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the theft of hardware trade secrets. The case highlights the security vulnerabilities at Apple while casting a shadow over an esteemed engineer’s career. Tan Tang, who spent 24 years at Apple as the VP of Product Design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, finds himself at the center of this controversy.<\/p>\n

The Allegations Against OpenAI<\/h3>\n

Apple’s lawsuit is comprehensive, spanning 40 pages and accusing OpenAI of a coordinated effort to steal proprietary information. In the filing, Apple claims, “one thing is clear: at every level, from members of its technical staff to its director of hardware, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing trade secrets and confidential information from Apple.” The accusations particularly focus on two former employees: Chang Liu and Tan Tang.<\/p>\n

The Role of Chang Liu<\/h3>\n

Chang Liu, a senior electrical systems engineer who left Apple for OpenAI in January 2026, allegedly kept his corporate laptop and exploited a vulnerability that let him access Apple\u2019s internal servers. He downloaded over a thousand pages of sensitive technical documents, including specifications for unreleased technologies. In an email to an Apple colleague, he expressed amusement at discovering his continued access to the corporate network, writing, “LOL, I discovered that I have access to the storage network, how fun.”<\/p>\n

Tang Tan\u2019s Involvement<\/h3>\n

In addition, Tang Tan, OpenAI’s current hardware director, allegedly used confidential Apple codenames during OpenAI’s hiring process and encouraged candidates to bring Apple hardware components to interviews. Reports indicate he also guided departing Apple employees on how to circumvent the company’s security measures.<\/p>\n

Potential Implications for OpenAI<\/h3>\n

This lawsuit poses a significant threat to OpenAI as it plans to launch its first AI device and consider going public. As stated by its spokesperson, Drew Pusateri, the company maintains, “We are not interested in the trade secrets of other companies.” However, the seriousness of the allegations could hinder OpenAI’s progress in bringing new products to market.<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s Strategy Behind the Lawsuit<\/h3>\n

For Apple, the lawsuit represents a crucial step in curbing the loss of talent to competitors like OpenAI. Apple has witnessed a concerning exodus of approximately 400 employees to the AI firm, prompting this legal action as part of its broader strategy to retain critical personnel and secure its technological innovations.<\/p>\n

A Brief Background on Tang Tan<\/h3>\n

Tang Tan’s career at Apple was notable; he played a vital role in developing iconic products such as the iPhone and Apple Watch. After leaving Apple, he co-founded io Products with legendary designer Jony Ive, which OpenAI acquired for $6.5 billion in 2025. Despite his significant role, Tan has not been accused of wrongdoing in this lawsuit.<\/p>\n

OpenAI\u2019s Legal Troubles<\/h3>\n

This case isn’t OpenAI’s first legal challenge; it is currently embroiled in an intellectual property dispute with The New York Times over accusations of using the publication’s articles without permission to train AI models. These ongoing legal issues hint at the broader complexities surrounding intellectual property in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.<\/p>\n

Next Steps in the Legal Battle<\/h3>\n

The lawsuit will soon enter a phase where both parties must share evidence, including emails and internal documents. Apple is also seeking provisional measures to prevent OpenAI from using the information in question, which could potentially suspend or delay the launch of its new AI device if any technology is found to infringe on Apple\u2019s intellectual property.<\/p>\n

As the legal proceedings unfold, the tech industry watches closely, recognizing the potential ramifications for both companies and the future of AI hardware innovation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apple Sues OpenAI: An Engineer’s Role in the Scandal This weekend, a dramatic legal battle unfolded as Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the theft of hardware trade secrets. The case highlights the security vulnerabilities at Apple while casting a shadow over an esteemed engineer’s career. Tan Tang, who spent 24 years at Apple […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":237991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[286,5816,6247,3310,14685,18785,1716,1448,4424,9785,1493],"class_list":["post-237990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-access","tag-apple","tag-engineer","tag-exposed","tag-lol","tag-openai","tag-scandal","tag-secret","tag-sues","tag-theft","tag-trade"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237990"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237992,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237990\/revisions\/237992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}