Apple has filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets. CNBC reported on Thursday that Apple, in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleged OpenAI took its intellectual property and confidential information to develop its own consumer hardware.

In the complaint, Apple said OpenAI stole its trade secrets and confidential information across the board, from technical personnel to its chief hardware officer and business partners. Apple sought damages and an injunction, and also asked the court to order OpenAI to stop using its trade secrets.

Former Apple employees who joined OpenAI or interviewed there were also a key focus of the lawsuit. Apple alleged that OpenAI Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan (탕 탄), a former Apple vice president, encouraged the sharing of internal information during interviews with Apple employees. Tang Tan was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Apple alleged that Tang Tan had candidates who were still employed at Apple bring actual parts to interviews, drawing out additional confidential information. It also said OpenAI told departing Apple employees how to bypass security procedures, and that former employee Chang Liu (창 리우), who moved to OpenAI, stole an Apple laptop. Chang Liu was also included as a defendant.

Apple also alleged that OpenAI asked hardware companies to apply a metal finishing technique developed by Apple, misleading partners as if it had Apple’s approval. IO Products, a startup founded by Jony Ive, is also a defendant in the lawsuit.

OpenAI has not yet disclosed the timing or details of its hardware products. Sam Altman has previously said he completed development of the first prototype in November last year. Apple did not answer whether the lawsuit would affect its cooperation with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT with Apple Intelligence.