Apple takes OpenAI to court over stolen trade secrets
Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, accusing the company and two of its employees of stealing trade secrets and engaging in what Apple calls a “pattern of misconduct.” The suit names OpenAI’s chief hardware officer and a technical staff member, both former Apple employees, as the two companies race to build next-generation AI hardware.
It’s a reminder that even the biggest names in tech aren’t immune to the oldest security problem in the book: people. Confidential product plans, designs and processes are only protected if a business actively treats them that way, and enforces it when staff leave for a competitor.
What it means for your business
- Tighten your offboarding process. When an employee with access to sensitive information resigns, revoke system access and confirm the return of company data on their last day, not weeks later.
- Put IP protection in writing. Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements only hold up if you can show the information was actually treated as a trade secret – restricted access, marked confidential, and limited need-to-know.
- Vet your AI vendors. Before rolling out an AI tool across your business, ask how the vendor protects the data you feed it, and who has access to your information once it leaves your systems.
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