OpenAI transforme une accusation de vol industriel en un débat sur la gestion des accès et la rétention des talents chez Apple.
Cette défense s'attaque au fondement juridique de la notion de secret d'affaires: si une entreprise ne protège pas activement ses données sensibles par des mesures de sécurité strictes, elle ne peut plus invoquer leur vol devant les tribunaux.
Pour contrer les accusations de vol d'informations confidentielles sur le matériel, OpenAI démontre qu'Apple autorisait l'usage de comptes iCloud personnels pour le travail et ne révoquait pas systématiquement les accès. Des échanges versés au dossier montrent un manager d'Apple demandant de l'aide technique à un ancien ingénieur après son départ chez OpenAI. OpenAI soutient également qu'Apple utilise ce procès pour masquer ses retards d'innovation et freiner la mobilité de ses ingénieurs.
Impact concret
Les responsables de la sécurité des systèmes d'information (RSSI) et équipes juridiques doivent interdire formellement les comptes cloud personnels sur les projets de R&D et appliquer une révocation instantanée des accès lors des démissions.
Applications concrètes
Mise en place de procédures automatisées de déprovisionnement IAM lors des départs de collaborateurs et révision des clauses de confidentialité matérielle.
OpenAI’s motion to dismiss Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit, along with newly filed exhibits, reveals the company’s legal defense strategy. Rather than focusing on whether former Apple employees working at OpenAI had accessed certain information, the AI company argues that Apple’s own security practices and offboarding procedures weaken its claim that the information qualifies as legally protected “trade secrets.” Apple’s complaint, filed in July , accuses OpenAI of orchestrating a scheme to obtain confidential hardware information from former Apple engineers. This week, Apple asked the court to expedite discovery , saying its internal investigation indicates some additional former employees may have participated in, or witnessed, the alleged theft of trade secrets. In its motion, OpenAI argues that Apple allowed employees to use personal iCloud accounts for work and failed to properly revoke access after they left the company. It also submitted text message records showing that an Apple manager remained logged into the personal iCloud account of defendant and former Apple engineer Chang Liu after he left the company to transfer files, and later asked him for help with technical questions about Apple projects. OpenAI also accuses Apple of omitting the consequences of its own “inexplicable information-management practices” from its original complaint, noting that the company failed to properly secure its systems when employees departed, creating confusion and unwanted access issues that Apple now characterizes as theft. While this may sound a bit like a “the door was unlocked, so it wasn’t really stealing!” defense, this argument is meant to strengthen OpenAI’s argument that former Apple employees were simply trying to assist their prior colleagues. It could also help push the narrative that these weren’t truly trade secrets if they weren’t secured as such. OpenAI argues Apple hasn’t specified which “trade secrets” or confidential components were allegedly stolen, referring to them instead as “generic categories of the product-development process—such as component manufacturing, product testing, vendor and supplier relationships, and distribution channels.” OpenAI’s filing posits that Apple is using this lawsuit to slow down its competitor from innovating in AI-powered hardware, rather than focusing on its own product plans. “OpenAI has no use, need or desire for Apple’s trade secrets,” the motion argues. “OpenAI is building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple. OpenAI does have an interest in hiring the best engineers, inventors, developers and creators—many of whom have decided to leave Apple and to come to OpenAI, attracted by the innovative and exciting work the company is doing. Apple might not like that,” it reads. “...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 says. Topics AI , Apple , lawsuit , OpenAI When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission . This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Sarah Perez Consumer News Editor Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software. You can contact or verify outreach from Sarah by emailing sarahp@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal. View Bio October 13 – 15 San Francisco Scale faster. Grow your portfolio. Gain practical expertise. No matter your goal, Disrupt can empower you. Save up to $300 toda y! REGISTER NOW Most Popular This ‘adversarial’ pattern can prevent surveillance cameras from detecting you Zack Whittaker ChatGPT brings unlimited text chats to free users Ivan Mehta Tesla and SpaceX will invest $16.8B to start building ‘Terafab’ chip factory in Texas Sean O'Kane Amid legal battles, Suno says it will start watermarking songs Ivan Mehta Ford’s new electric truck, ‘Fathom,’ starts at $28,350 Sean O'Kane Bending Spoons to buy Airtable for $1.28B Ivan Mehta Influencers draw backlash for attending OpenAI’s first luxury trip Dominic-Madori Davis