Apple Unveils ‘Compelling Evidence’ in Case Against Ex-Employee Accused of Data Theft for OpenAI

Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, introducing what it describes as “concerning evidence” that supports its claims that certain ex-employees misappropriated trade secrets for OpenAI’s benefit. This information emerged following an examination of a work laptop owned by Chang Liu, a former Apple employee now at OpenAI, which was provided by his legal representatives earlier this month.

According to Apple, Liu used a proprietary circuit schematic from its archives while employed at OpenAI, along with a tool named after an internal engineering application at Apple. The company contends that OpenAI was “fully aware” of Liu’s access to confidential data and that Liu involved his OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng in destroying evidence in June, upon discovering that Apple was investigating him.

“The MacBook reveals the limited information that the Defendants have disclosed thus far (and only after substantial delays), demonstrating that Apple is not conducting ‘fishing expeditions’ but that its trade secrets are indeed being exploited and evidence is being concealed,” states the legal document.

While this new evidence is presently redacted from public view, earlier documents from Apple have highlighted text messages from Liu—often punctuated with “crying laughing” emojis—indicating he was aware of his continued access to Apple files.

OpenAI has previously defended Liu, asserting that his access to Apple files occurred solely after his departure to aid former colleagues in need. “Apple is attempting to redirect attention to ‘residual access,’ but they ignore that this issue is widespread at Apple, arising from their poor management of system access when employees leave,” OpenAI mentioned in a blog post earlier this month.

On the other hand, Apple claims that Liu retained access by “exploiting a rare, previously undiscovered authentication vulnerability.”

TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI for comments on Apple’s recent allegations.

Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction—a legal order aimed at preventing OpenAI from creating hardware based on Apple’s technology amid the ongoing legal battle—and expedited discovery, a swift process for evidence gathering, as the company fears that other former employees might also be implicated.

As outlined in Apple’s original legal documents, more than 400 former employees from Apple are currently working at OpenAI.