Hajra Naz
Apple filed new evidence in its ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI. The company describes this new material as “shocking evidence.” Apple says it supports allegations that former employees stole trade secrets for OpenAI’s benefit. This new information surfaced after a specific development.
Legal counsel for former Apple employee Chang Liu handed over his old Apple work laptop. Liu now works at OpenAI. That laptop was submitted for investigation earlier this month.
Apple now makes several specific allegations. The company claims Liu used a confidential Apple circuit schematic in his work at OpenAI. Apple also points to a tool Liu allegedly used. That tool shares a name with an internal Apple engineering application.
According to Apple, OpenAI was “well-aware” of Liu’s access to Apple data. The company also claims something more serious. It alleges Liu enlisted OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to help destroy evidence. This reportedly happened in June, once Liu learned Apple was investigating him.
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“The MacBook represents the very limited information Defendants provided so far (and only after weeks of delay) and shows Apple is not conducting ‘fishing expeditions’ but that its trade secrets are being used and evidence is being destroyed,” the filing reads.
This new evidence remains redacted from public view for now. However, past filings from Apple have revealed other details. That includes text messages from Liu. Notably, he punctuated those messages with “crying laughing” emojis. Those messages reportedly show he knew he still had access to Apple files.
OpenAI has previously defended Liu publicly. The company said he only accessed Apple files after leaving the company. According to OpenAI, he did this to help former colleagues who requested his assistance.
“Apple now tries to shift the blame to ‘residual access,’ but they also don’t disclose that this is a common issue with Apple, which is caused by them failing to properly manage system access when people leave,” OpenAI wrote in a blog post earlier this month.
Apple disputes this explanation directly. The company claims Liu maintained continued access for a different reason. According to Apple, he “exploited a rare, previously unknown authentication bug.”
OpenAI has been asked to comment on Apple’s newest allegations.
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Apple is pursuing two specific legal actions in this case. First, the company is seeking a preliminary injunction. This would be a court order. It would block OpenAI from working on hardware based on Apple’s technology. That block would remain in place while the case continues.
Second, Apple is seeking expedited discovery. This is a fast-tracked process for gathering evidence. Apple argues this is necessary. The company alleges more former employees may be implicated in this case as well.
According to Apple’s initial filing, the scope of this issue is significant. More than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.
