Apple is turning a former engineer’s old MacBook into the latest flashpoint in its increasingly bitter fight with OpenAI.
Apple told a federal court Monday that evidence recovered from former engineer Chang Liu’s Apple-issued MacBook strengthens its claims that confidential company technology was accessed and used after he joined OpenAI.
In a filing supporting its request for expedited discovery, Apple said the defendants produced the laptop only after weeks of delay. An initial forensic review allegedly found that Liu and others at OpenAI “were well aware” of his continued unauthorized access to Apple’s third-party cloud storage providers, according to Bloomberg.
Apple also alleges that Liu downloaded a confidential circuit schematic and later used it in his work at OpenAI. The company further claims he used a tool at OpenAI with the same name as an internal Apple engineering application.
More seriously, Apple alleges that Liu instructed OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to destroy evidence after learning he was under investigation and that Peng agreed to comply. Apple’s lawyers wrote that the laptop “shows Apple is not conducting ‘fishing expeditions’ but that its trade secrets are being used and evidence is being destroyed,” according to Bloomberg.
The newly cited material is largely sealed or redacted, so the public record does not yet provide a complete picture of what Apple found.
OpenAI blames Apple’s security practices #
OpenAI disputes Apple’s interpretation of Liu’s actions. The company says Liu accessed Apple files to help former colleagues with Apple-related work and argues that the documents he accessed were irrelevant to his responsibilities at OpenAI.
OpenAI has also criticized Apple’s handling of departing employees, arguing that poor access controls allowed Liu to retain access after leaving the company. It has published excerpts of Liu’s messages as part of its defense.
OpenAI has called the dispute “a mess of Apple’s own making” and warned that a broad injunction could “chill employee mobility,” according to Bloomberg.
The competing accounts leave several questions for the court, including whether Liu accessed protected material without authorization, whether it qualified as a trade secret and whether OpenAI acquired or benefited from it.
The bigger fight is about hardware #
The stakes extend beyond one engineer. Apple alleges that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI. That employee movement has become more sensitive as OpenAI expands into consumer hardware, including products being developed with former Apple design chief Jony Ive.
For Apple, proving that confidential engineering material crossed into OpenAI’s hardware work could strengthen its case for court restrictions. For OpenAI, a broad order could complicate hiring and product development while the company builds its hardware business.
For IT and security leaders, the dispute also highlights the importance of immediately revoking departing employees’ access, recovering company devices and preserving records when staff move to competitors.
What happens next #
Apple is seeking damages, expedited discovery and a preliminary injunction that would prevent OpenAI from using the disputed technology while the lawsuit proceeds. It also wants proprietary material allegedly obtained by OpenAI destroyed.
A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments on Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction on Oct. 1. The hearing could determine whether OpenAI faces immediate restrictions while the lawsuit proceeds, although the court has not ruled that any trade-secret misappropriation or evidence destruction occurred.