Apple Is Suing OpenAI.

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.

Member-only story Apple Is Suing OpenAI. An Engineer Wrote “LOL, I Can Still Access the Server.” That Quote Is Now in a Federal Lawsuit. Over 400 former Apple engineers now work at OpenAI. Two are named defendants. One walked out with a company MacBook and kept downloading confidential hardware files for weeks. Here is what the lawsuit says. — - The engineer’s name is Chang Liu. On his last day at Apple, he did not return his work MacBook. He kept his credentials. He 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. After he had already started at OpenAI, he downloaded confidential files from Apple’s servers. And then — apparently finding this amusing — he wrote to a colleague: “LOL, I found out I can access the network storage .” That message is now a quoted exhibit in a federal lawsuit. Apple filed suit in the Northern District of California on June 14, 2026, against OpenAI and several named individuals. The 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.