{"slug": "apple-openai-fight-escalates-with-new-macbook-evidence", "title": "Apple-OpenAI Fight Escalates With New MacBook Evidence", "summary": "Apple Inc. told a federal court Monday that evidence from former engineer Chang Liu's Apple-issued MacBook strengthens its trade-secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging Liu accessed confidential technology after joining OpenAI and instructed colleague Yu-Ting Peng to destroy evidence. Apple seeks damages, expedited discovery, and a preliminary injunction to prevent OpenAI from using disputed technology, with a hearing scheduled for Oct. 1. OpenAI disputes the claims, blaming Apple's poor access controls and warning that a broad injunction could chill employee mobility.", "body_md": "Apple is turning a former engineer’s old MacBook into the latest flashpoint in its increasingly bitter fight with OpenAI.\n\nApple 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.\n\nIn 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](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-31/apple-says-openai-is-destroying-evidence-in-trade-secrets-case).\n\nApple 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.\n\nMore 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.\n\n[The newly cited material is largely sealed or redacted](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.474095/gov.uscourts.cand.474095.94.1.pdf), so the public record does not yet provide a complete picture of what Apple found.\n\n## OpenAI blames Apple’s security practices\n\nOpenAI disputes Apple’s interpretation of Liu’s actions. The company says Liu accessed [Apple](https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-apple-openai-trade-secrets-injunction/) files to help former colleagues with Apple-related work and argues that the documents he accessed were irrelevant to his responsibilities at OpenAI.\n\nOpenAI 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](https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-openai-dismiss-apple-trade-secrets-lawsuit/).\n\nOpenAI has called the dispute “a mess of Apple’s own making” and warned that a broad injunction could “chill employee mobility,” according to Bloomberg.\n\nThe 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.\n\n## The bigger fight is about hardware\n\nThe 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](https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-jony-ive-openai-device-will-make-us-happy/).\n\nFor 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.\n\nFor 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.\n\n## What happens next\n\nApple 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.\n\nA 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.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-openai-fight-escalates-with-new-macbook-evidence", "canonical_source": "https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-apple-openai-macbook-evidence-trade-secrets/", "published_at": "2026-09-01 17:59:08+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-01 20:25:27.308905+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Apple Inc.", "OpenAI", "Chang Liu", "Yu-Ting Peng", "Jony Ive"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-openai-fight-escalates-with-new-macbook-evidence", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-openai-fight-escalates-with-new-macbook-evidence.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-openai-fight-escalates-with-new-macbook-evidence.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/apple-openai-fight-escalates-with-new-macbook-evidence.jsonld"}}