Apple (AAPL) sued Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI over trade secret theft, but the AI company asked a federal judge to dismiss the case as meritless, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing a court filing.

Attorneys for OpenAI said the lawsuit mischaracterizes standard hiring practices and efforts by former workers to assist former colleagues as theft of trade secrets, the news outlet reported.

OpenAI added that Apple filed the suit without proper investigation to offset its own struggles with hiring talent and artificial intelligence integration into its products, Bloomberg News reported, citing the filing.

Apple and OpenAI did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)