Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI has encountered a misstep due to an embarrassing email sent to the wrong recipient.

      Apple pursued OpenAI for its trade secrets, but OpenAI retained email evidence.

      The legal dispute between OpenAI and Apple has escalated beyond formal court declarations. OpenAI has recently disclosed email and message exchanges relevant to the conflict, and one specific interaction casts doubt on Apple’s narrative.

      In a straightforwardly titled post, "Apple is getting this wrong," OpenAI contested Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction, claiming that the iPhone manufacturer constructed parts of its argument based on inaccurate or incomplete information. Apple seeks a court order to prevent OpenAI and two former Apple employees from accessing, acquiring, utilizing, or disclosing its purported confidential information.

      Apple's documentation reveals a comical confusion.

      Apple had alleged it reached out to OpenAI in February concerning former employees keeping confidential information and claimed there was no response. The emails released by OpenAI show that Apple’s external lawyer, Gabriel Gross, contacted OpenAI General Counsel Che Chang. Gross later sent a follow-up message to Chang, expressing gratitude for a phone conversation and an offer to collaborate. Chang responded that no such conversation had occurred.

      Gross later admitted that his message was meant for another former Apple employee, whose last name was Wang, and it had been mistakenly sent in the email thread with Chang. OpenAI interprets this incident as Apple mixing up two Asian surnames.

      OpenAI further contends that Apple did not raise the specific allegations that later appeared in its lawsuit. The correspondence reveals that Apple’s counsel mentioned it was working to resolve the issue before communication ceased for about five months, before the company officially filed its lawsuit on July 10.

      OpenAI provided more than just emails.

      Apple's lawsuit identifies former employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, accusing them and OpenAI of improperly using confidential hardware data to expedite OpenAI’s plans for consumer devices. Recently, Apple requested swift document production and depositions from OpenAI staff and corporate representatives.

      OpenAI also released iMessages showing Apple employees still seeking Liu’s assistance in finding files and answering technical queries after his departure. This suggests that Apple’s claim that Liu intentionally retained access is unfounded, as it failed to properly sever former employees from its systems.

      These exchanges serve as OpenAI's defense in an ongoing lawsuit, rather than a judge's ruling. Nonetheless, they present a troubling contradiction for Apple. Employees reportedly continued to seek Liu’s help while the company now asserts that his ongoing access poses an immediate threat, a situation that could significantly impact its hardware strategies.