Email glitch derails Apple-OpenAI talks

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Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI is also based on the allegation that the AI company never responded to initial contact. However, reviewed emails paint a different picture: OpenAI did indeed respond – and the discussions ended due to a mix-up on Apple's part.

Last week, Apple OpenAI sued for the theft of trade secrets and named two former employees. One element of the lawsuit is the allegation that Apple raised its concerns directly with OpenAI as early as February, but the company "never responded." A report by NBC News, who claims to possess the relevant emails, questions precisely this account – thus providing a further contradiction, after OpenAI had already did not want to see any evidence for the accusation.

What really happened, according to the report

According to the report, OpenAI did respond to Apple's initial contact in February. An external lawyer from the firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges sent an email to OpenAI's chief legal officer stating that former Apple employees at OpenAI were withholding confidential and proprietary information. Attached were documents intended to support the allegation.

Thirteen minutes later, a second message from the same lawyer to the same recipient followed – this time thanking him for a recent phone call and the quickly agreed-upon cooperation. The problem: This phone call had never taken place with the chief legal officer. The lawyer had confused two OpenAI employees with similar-sounding last names and sent the thank-you email to the wrong person.

A mix-up leads to a break

The thank-you email made no sense to the recipient. He assumed the lawyer had deliberately sent him a fabricated account to strengthen Apple's position against OpenAI. He then contacted two internal Apple lawyers and accused the external attorney of lying about an alleged phone call – they didn't know each other and had never spoken. He requested that the attorney be removed from the case.

The lawyer later apologized for the mix-up. One of Apple's internal legal counsel informed the OpenAI representative that he could remain in contact with the lawyer and his firm. After that, communication ceased. OpenAI states that it received no further contact from Apple's lawyers until last Friday, when the lawsuit was filed.

Why the detail matters in this case

The blunder is more than just a minor detail. Apple included the alleged lack of response in its lawsuit to demonstrate its own efforts to reach an amicable solution and to portray OpenAI as obstructive. If NBC News' account is accurate, then the communication stalled not due to a refusal by OpenAI, but rather due to an error within Apple's own legal team.

It is important to consider the source of the information: The emails reviewed suggest that they were leaked from within OpenAI – that is, from the party with an interest in undermining Apple's narrative. Apple has not yet commented on the report. This does not prove that Apple's allegations are unfounded, but only that a single, minor point of the lawsuit – the alleged lack of communication – appears to be different than presented.

A side issue with an impact

The email glitch says nothing about the core of the dispute - whether former Apple engineers passed confidential hardware information to OpenAI. However, it demonstrates how quickly a procedural detail can escalate into a credibility issue. A trial already marked by hundreds of former Apple employees moving to OpenAI and mutual accusations has thus gained another dimension, with both sides vying for the narrative. (Image: Shutterstock / doomu)