Apple rejects iCloud claim in OpenAI trade secrets case

Apple has pushed back against one of the central theories in its legal battle with OpenAI, telling a US court that iCloud was not responsible for a former employee allegedly accessing confidential company documents after leaving to join the AI company.

The filing addresses claims made by OpenAI that Apple's own account management practices may have unintentionally allowed former employees to retain access to sensitive files.

Apple says confidential files did not come from iCloud

In the latest court filing from Apple, the company claims that the files that were allegedly downloaded without authorisation did not get downloaded from iCloud.

According to Apple, the files that caused the problem were downloaded using some other cloud storage provider than iCloud.

Even though Apple is trying to find out whether Mr Chang Liu, an ex-employee, had access to iCloud and other storage facilities, the company says that these files are different from those mentioned in the lawsuit.

OpenAI has argued that Apple's internal security practices allowed former employees to keep access to company documents after leaving.

The company claimed Apple encouraged staff to use personal Apple IDs linked to company-issued devices, potentially allowing shared files to remain accessible after employment ended.

Reports suggested this arrangement could have resulted in former employees continuing to receive updates to documents without actively seeking access.

Apple's latest filing rejects the idea that this explains the alleged downloads central to the case.

In the lawsuit filed by Apple in July, Apple charges that OpenAI has been profiting from trade secrets stolen by ex-employees of Apple who were working on hardware products.

The company has denied the charges and claimed it found no evidence of the accusations made by Apple.

Currently, Apple is trying to secure a preliminary injunction claiming that otherwise irreparable harm will befall it.