[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-apple-targets-40-openai-staffers-in-trade-secret-fight":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},4808,"apple-targets-40-openai-staffers-in-trade-secret-fight","Apple Targets 40 OpenAI Staffers in Trade Secret Fight","Apple sent legal preservation letters to roughly 40 former employees now at OpenAI, widening its trade secret suit beyond the original defendants.","Apple is casting a wider net in its trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI.\n\nAfter filing suit last week alleging a coordinated campaign to extract confidential information on hardware engineering and product development, Apple has sent legal preservation letters to around 40 former employees now working at OpenAI. The letters instruct recipients to hold onto potentially relevant documents and communications — a standard move in litigation when a plaintiff suspects the evidence pool is bigger than the named defendants. Apple's original complaint singles out Tang Tan, OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer and a 24-year Apple veteran who led product design, and Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer now on OpenAI's hardware team.\n\nThe expansion matters because preservation letters signal Apple believes the alleged misappropriation wasn't a two-person operation. If Apple can show a broader pattern of engineers carrying proprietary designs, manufacturing processes, or other trade secrets out the door, it strengthens the coordinated-effort theory at the center of the lawsuit. That theory, if it holds, is considerably more damaging to OpenAI than a rogue-employee story.\n\nOpenAI told Bloomberg it is \"not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit\" — which is the kind of statement every defendant's communications team issues on day one and which tells us nothing yet about how this plays out in court.","[\"apple\",\"openai\",\"legal\",\"trade secrets\"]","2026-07-17T08:53:08.000Z","2026-07-17T11:55:58.507Z","2026-07-17T11:56:01.460Z","published",null,[],"policy",[26,27,28,29],"apple","openai","legal","trade secrets",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"MacRumors","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.macrumors.com\u002F2026\u002F07\u002F17\u002Fapple-sends-legal-letters-openai\u002F",0,{"sections":36},[37,42,47,52,55,60,65,70,75,80,85,90,95,100],{"name":38,"slug":39,"count":40,"latest_published_at":41},"AI","ai",2600,"2026-07-17T12:30:08.000Z",{"name":43,"slug":44,"count":45,"latest_published_at":46},"Security","security",309,"2026-07-17T14:43:57.000Z",{"name":48,"slug":49,"count":50,"latest_published_at":51},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":53,"slug":24,"count":54,"latest_published_at":18},"Policy",166,{"name":56,"slug":57,"count":58,"latest_published_at":59},"Hardware","hardware",126,"2026-07-16T20:09:48.000Z",{"name":61,"slug":62,"count":63,"latest_published_at":64},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",94,"2026-07-16T16:29:46.000Z",{"name":66,"slug":67,"count":68,"latest_published_at":69},"Software","software",72,"2026-07-17T09:42:05.000Z",{"name":71,"slug":72,"count":73,"latest_published_at":74},"Science","science",66,"2026-07-10T10:29:37.000Z",{"name":76,"slug":77,"count":78,"latest_published_at":79},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",60,"2026-07-16T16:59:13.000Z",{"name":81,"slug":82,"count":83,"latest_published_at":84},"Startups","startups",42,"2026-07-16T16:30:35.000Z",{"name":86,"slug":87,"count":88,"latest_published_at":89},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":91,"slug":92,"count":93,"latest_published_at":94},"General","general",29,"2026-07-10T22:28:58.000Z",{"name":96,"slug":97,"count":98,"latest_published_at":99},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":101,"slug":102,"count":103,"latest_published_at":104},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]