Apple Says OpenAI Targeted iPhone Trade Secrets for Signature Finish and Battery Designs
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Aug 6
Apple Says OpenAI Targeted iPhone Trade Secrets for Signature Finish and Battery Designs
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Aug 6
Summary
Apple told a California federal court that OpenAI tried to obtain the proprietary manufacturing know-how behind the iPhone’s “signature look and feel,” focusing on metal-finishing processes and battery-management designs.
Court filings say those techniques create Apple’s dark gray anodized aluminum finish — a durable, corrosion-resistant surface Apple argues cannot be reverse engineered and is central to its brand appeal.
Apple alleges OpenAI gained access by hiring away an employee involved in developing the processes and then misleading a manufacturer into believing OpenAI was authorized to use them on device models.
OpenAI called the lawsuit “careless, aggressive and oddly personal” and said Apple misread the events, arguing some access was requested and authorized by Apple employees for former colleagues who had joined OpenAI.
The dispute expands Apple’s trade-secrets case filed earlier this week, which already accused additional ex-employees of taking confidential data tied to OpenAI’s hardware ambitions.