# Apple widens OpenAI trade secrets fight with preservation orders > Source: > Published: 2026-07-17 13:28:48+00:00 Dozens of former Apple employees now working at OpenAI have been put on notice after Apple reportedly sent legal letters ordering them to preserve documents and communications relevant to its trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI. [The Financial Times reports](https://www.ft.com/content/1b8c9d52-88a9-426b-ba47-f1811f859166) that “around 40” employees have been targeted with these letters, which repeat Apple’s claim that its confidential information might have been exfiltrated, alleging “trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract.” The letters also require them to arrange to meet with Apple’s lawyers. This comes on the heels of [Apple’s explosive lawsuit against OpenAI](https://www.computerworld.com/article/4195828/rotten-to-its-core-apple-files-an-explosive-lawsuit-against-openai.html) in which Apple accused the AI company (and former Apple Vice President Tang Tan) of extensive coordinated data theft. Tan was at Apple for 24 years and is now Chief Hardware Officer at OpenAI. Apple’s lawsuit is defined by claims OpenAI took a range of steps to pry confidential Apple data from existing Apple employees, including using information such as internal project code names, to gain even more knowledge during interviews. The company says the evidence it has presented so far is only the “tip of the iceberg” concerning OpenAI’s approach. The lawsuit requests that OpenAI be prevented from using any Apple information during the development of its hardware. Apple is also seeking damages and suing two former employees for breach of contract for violating their employment agreements. The letters are significant. They represent formal directives that require former Apple staff to preserve documents, messages, emails, and other communications that could be relevant to the case. The demand reflects Apple’s belief that the alleged misuse of confidential information could be more widespread across the competing company. What’s critical is that orders of this kind override any standard data destruction policy and deletion of the requested information becomes a legal offense. In making its move, Apple shows this is not a dispute about just one or two hires, but an attempt to constrain the movement of intellectual property between the two firms. With AI hardware emerging as the next major battleground in tech, the case could become a defining one; whatever resolution is eventually reached could define the extent to which former employees can carry experience and knowledge between competing firms. The case might also define what the line is between experience and knowledge and the sharing of trade secrets. This is important, because modern hardware development relies on [far more than just finished designs](https://www.applemust.com/openai-discovers-it-takes-time-not-just-design-to-build-great-hardware/#google_vignette). Product design leans into supplier relationships, manufacturing assumptions, physics, extensive prototyping, and product-roadmap priorities. If courts treat those accumulated insights as protectable secrets, hiring between major technology companies could become far more legally sensitive. The case comes as Apple prepares to [combat OpenAI in hardware](https://www.computerworld.com/article/3992592/jony-ive-and-openai-plan-bicycles-for-21st-century-minds.html). Its competitor is [now working with legendary former Apple designer Jony Ive](https://openai.com/sam-and-jony/). Ive is not named in the litigation, but Apple will be keen to find out whether confidential product knowledge, design processes, or supply-chain insights have travelled with former staff into OpenAI’s device work. Ultimately, for Apple, it’s about protecting its many blueprints for whatever hardware the company expects will come after the iPhone. For its part, OpenAI has refuted Apple’s lawsuit, arguing that it is “not aware of any evidence” that the lawsuit has merit. “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets,” [said OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri](https://x.com/drewpusateri/status/2075708238650089981). “We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.” The company’s lawyers also [claim it did respond to Apple’s initial inquiries](https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/07/15/openai-blames-email-mixup-for-why-it-didnt-respond-to-apple-trade-theft-claims) on the matter. The significance of Apple’s newly-shared communication preservation orders is that if discovery uncovers evidence supporting Apple’s claims, the case could complicate OpenAI’s hardware plans and create unwelcome scrutiny ahead of any future public offering. *You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky, LinkedIn, Mastodon and subscribe to The Core.*