{"slug": "apple-is-suing-openai", "title": "Apple Is Suing OpenAI.", "summary": "Apple filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI on June 14, 2026, alleging trade secret misappropriation after former engineer Chang Liu kept his work MacBook and credentials post-employment, downloaded confidential hardware files from Apple's servers after joining OpenAI, and messaged a colleague \"LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage].\" The complaint, filed in the Northern District of California, also names over 400 former Apple engineers now at OpenAI and two individual defendants, citing violations of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, California unfair business practices, and breach of contract.", "body_md": "Member-only story\n\n**Apple Is Suing OpenAI. An Engineer Wrote “LOL, I Can Still Access the Server.” That Quote Is Now in a Federal Lawsuit.**\n\n**Over 400 former Apple engineers now work at OpenAI. Two are named defendants.**\n\n**One walked out with a company MacBook and kept downloading confidential hardware files for weeks. Here is what the lawsuit says.**\n\n— -\n\nThe engineer’s name is Chang Liu.\n\nOn his last day at Apple, he did not return his work MacBook. He kept his credentials.\n\nHe kept his access to Apple’s internal network storage — the file servers that hold the hardware designs, chip architecture documents, and manufacturing specs for Apple’s unreleased products.\n\nAfter he had already started at OpenAI, he downloaded confidential files from Apple’s servers.\n\nAnd then — apparently finding this amusing — he wrote to a colleague: “LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage].”\n\nThat message is now a quoted exhibit in a federal lawsuit.\n\nApple filed suit in the Northern District of California on June 14, 2026, against OpenAI and several named individuals.\n\nThe complaint alleges trade secret misappropriation under the [Defend Trade Secrets Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1890), unfair business practices under California law, and breach of contract.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-is-suing-openai", "canonical_source": "https://pub.towardsai.net/apple-is-suing-openai-01faade3f54f?source=rss----98111c9905da---4", "published_at": "2026-07-20 06:43:47+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-20 13:21:38.252473+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["Apple", "OpenAI", "Chang Liu", "Northern District of California"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-is-suing-openai", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-is-suing-openai.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-is-suing-openai.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-is-suing-openai.jsonld"}}