Apple has suggested the possibility of evidence destruction by a former employee in the ongoing lawsuit between Apple and OpenAI regarding the theft of intellectual property.
Last month, OpenAI countered that there is no basis for Apple's claims of intellectual property theft. OpenAI asserted that the motivation behind Apple's lawsuit stems from Apple's struggles with talent acquisition and retention, as well as its failure to effectively integrate AI into its own products.
Tang Tan, a former Apple employee who joined OpenAI last summer, has also become a focal point of the litigation. Apple claims that Mr. Tan encouraged departing employees to disclose confidential information during interviews with OpenAI. In response, OpenAI argued that Apple has failed to specify exactly which trade secrets were shared during the interactions with Mr. Tan. Furthermore, OpenAI has not admitted that he violated the U.S. federal Defend Trade Secrets Act.
Source: Apple元社員、企業秘密を持ち出し証拠隠滅まで？OpenAI訴訟が泥沼化の様相（ギズモード・ジャパン） - Yahoo!ニュース (Google News: OpenAI, 2026-09-02)