Last week, Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in which it alleged that its former employees have stolen trade secrets “for the benefit of OpenAI.”
As part of this process, Apple has reportedly sent letters directly to dozens of its former employees now working at OpenAI.
According to the Financial Times, Apple has sent legal preservation letters to around 40 former workers.
A preservation letter is a formal written notice sent to a person or organization telling them to preserve documents, records, and other evidence that may be relevant to a legal dispute. These letters typically spell out what should be preserved.
This comes as Apple suspects the trade secret theft might extend beyond those named in the initial filing last week.
As a refresher, Apple’s lawsuit names OpenAI and io Products as defendants, alongside former Apple employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan.
You can read more about Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI here:
You can read a full copy of Apple’s initial filing here.
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