OpenAI seeks dismissal of Apple's trade secrets lawsuit

By Rishabh Jaiswal and Shubham ‌Kalia

Aug 5 (Reuters) - ​OpenAI asked ​a U.S. judge on Wednesday to dismiss Apple's lawsuit that accused the ChatGPT maker and two former Apple employees of trade-secret ‌theft to help it expand into consumer hardware, saying it was ⁠building something "entirely new."

"OpenAI has no use, need or desire for Apple's trade secrets. OpenAI is ‌building something entirely new and ‌different from anything at Apple," lawyers for OpenAI wrote in the motion to dismiss filed on Wednesday.

Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters ​request for comment on OpenAI's motion.

Apple had alleged in its complaint in July that OpenAI systematically obtained and exploited Apple's confidential information through former ⁠employees, recruiting practices and supplier relationships to accelerate its consumer hardware ambitions.

The lawsuit between the two tech companies ​set up a battle over who will control future AI devices that may not use traditional apps or operating systems — ​devices which, if successful, would direct consumer ‌attention away from Apple's best-selling iPhone. Analysts believe OpenAI is working on a phone or other device of its own.

"Apple's ⁠complaint fails to sufficiently describe the information for which it claims trade secret protection; its generalized product development categories are not sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss," OpenAI ⁠said in the filing.

The company argued that the iPhone maker also failed to demonstrate it ​owned "a protectable trade secret" or to "plausibly allege misappropriation" by any of the defendants.

"Apple should not be permitted to use a baseless and pretextual lawsuit to make up for its ‌shortcomings in the market for talent and retaining its employees, and its failures to integrate AI into its products," the ‌motion said.

The two companies have an existing partnership that allows Apple users to ⁠access ChatGPT results through Siri, while ‌iPhone users can also ​sign up for ChatGPT memberships directly from the iOS settings menu.

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast and ‌Louise Heavens)

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