Apple Seeks Preliminary Injunction Against OpenAI and Two Former Employees in Trade Secrets Case

Aug 4, 2026

Apple has escalated its trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI by filing a preliminary injunction on August 3, 2026, to block OpenAI and former Apple employees Tang Yew Tan and Chang Liu from using proprietary hardware data. Apple alleges the former design leaders misappropriated trade secrets to aid OpenAI's push into consumer hardware, which could threaten the iPhone ecosystem. OpenAI has rejected the claims as unnecessary and false, asserting it does not possess or want Apple's secrets.

Apple preliminary injunction request

▪Apple filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on August 3, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking to bar OpenAI, Chang Liu, and Tang Yew Tan from accessing, acquiring, using, or disclosing alleged confidential trade secrets.
▪Apple requested depositions from former employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI employee Yu-Ting Peng, an unnamed OpenAI employee who previously worked at Apple, and corporate representatives of OpenAI and io Products.
▪Apple filed a concurrent motion for expedited discovery, requesting the production of documents and expedited depositions related to the defendants' alleged access to Apple's proprietary information.

Trade secrets lawsuit allegations

▪Apple claims that more than 400 of its former employees now work at OpenAI, highlighting intense competition for engineering and product design talent.
▪Apple filed a lawsuit in July 2026 alleging that former employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan misappropriated confidential trade secrets, supplier information, and product designs to benefit OpenAI's development of consumer hardware.

OpenAI denies accusations

▪OpenAI released emails and iMessage conversations to argue that Apple's legal team contacted the wrong person and miscommunicated, describing Apple's lawsuit as careless, aggressive, and oddly personal.
▪OpenAI rejected Apple's preliminary injunction request in an August 3, 2026, blog post, calling it unnecessary and based on false information, and stating that OpenAI does not possess or want Apple's trade secrets.

Former Apple employees involvement

▪Chang Liu previously worked as a senior system electrical engineer at Apple before joining OpenAI.
▪Tang Yew Tan previously served as Apple's vice president of product design for iPhone and Apple Watch before joining OpenAI.

Apple stock performance decline

▪Apple shares fell more than 11% over the five trading days leading up to August 4, 2026, following a weaker-than-expected revenue forecast in its latest earnings report.
▪Apple shares edged lower by approximately 0.19% in pre-market trading on August 4, 2026, after closing down over 1.78% during the August 3, 2026, trading session.