Name Mix-Up in Apple Lawsuit Reveals OpenAI Did Respond to Trade Secret Concerns
Key Takeaways
- ▸OpenAI did respond to Apple's February 2026 concerns about alleged trade secret theft, contradicting Apple's lawsuit claim of non-responsiveness
- ▸An Apple attorney's confusion of OpenAI employees with similar surnames (Wang and Chang) disrupted ongoing communications between the parties
- ▸The miscommunication suggests that administrative errors in legal correspondence may have contributed to escalation of the trade secret dispute
Summary
Apple alleged in a recent lawsuit that OpenAI "never responded" to concerns about alleged trade secret theft, but newly reviewed emails by NBC News contradict that claim. OpenAI actually did respond to Apple's initial outreach in February 2026, according to correspondence uncovered by reporters. However, the communication deteriorated after an outside attorney representing Apple confused the names and email addresses of two OpenAI employees with similar surnames—Wang and Chang—creating a breakdown in the dialogue.
The miscommunication appears to have derailed what could have been a productive dispute resolution process. Rather than OpenAI stonewalling Apple's concerns, the breakdown stemmed from administrative confusion on Apple's legal side. This detail directly contradicts Apple's public narrative in the lawsuit and suggests that the escalation of the dispute may have been avoidable with proper attention to accurate contact information.
The incident underscores how seemingly minor errors in legal communications—like misidentifying key contacts—can have profound consequences in high-stakes corporate disputes between major technology companies.
