Apple files new evidence in OpenAI trade-secret case alleging data use and evidence destruction

Apple's new allegations

Apple has filed fresh material in its trade-secret lawsuit against OpenAI that it describes as startling evidence for its claim that former employees took confidential data for OpenAI's benefit, according to TechCrunch. The submission became possible after legal counsel for Chang Liu, a former Apple employee who now works at OpenAI, handed over his old Apple work laptop for examination earlier this month.

In the new filing, Apple alleges that Liu used a confidential Apple circuit schematic in his work at OpenAI, and that he also worked with a tool carrying the same name as an internal Apple engineering application. The company further claims that OpenAI was well aware Liu still had access to Apple data, and that after Liu learned in June that Apple was investigating him, he enlisted an OpenAI colleague, Yu-Ting Peng, to help destroy evidence.

Apple argues that the laptop represents the very limited information the defendants have produced so far, and only after weeks of delay. According to the filing quoted by TechCrunch, the company says this demonstrates it is not conducting a "fishing expedition" but that its trade secrets are actively being used while evidence is being destroyed. The specifics of the new evidence are redacted from public view.

Earlier Apple filings included text messages from Liu, punctuated with laughing-crying emojis, indicating he knew he still had access to Apple files.

OpenAI's response

OpenAI has publicly defended Liu, saying he only accessed Apple files after he stopped working there, and that he did so to assist former colleagues who asked for his help. In a blog post earlier this month, the company argued that Apple is trying to shift blame onto "residual access" while not disclosing that lingering credentials are a common problem caused by Apple's own failure to properly manage system access when people leave.

Apple disputes that framing, claiming Liu retained access because he exploited a rare, previously unknown authentication bug.

TechCrunch reports that it has asked OpenAI for comment on the newest allegations.

What Apple is asking the court for

Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction that would block OpenAI from working on hardware based on Apple's technology while the case is ongoing. It is also requesting expedited discovery, a fast-tracked process for gathering evidence, on the grounds that additional former employees may be implicated.

The dispute is playing out against considerable movement of staff between the two companies: Apple's initial filing states that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.

Why it matters

This is one of the most prominent trade-secret battles in the AI industry, and its outcome could shape how employers and AI labs handle talent migration, device returns and access revocation. If granted, the preliminary injunction would directly constrain OpenAI's hardware work while litigation proceeds, raising the stakes well beyond the individuals named in the filings. The competing explanations for how Liu kept his access — an authentication bug, according to Apple, versus poor offboarding practices, as OpenAI contends — also place both companies' internal security practices under legal scrutiny. With Apple alleging that more former employees could be involved, and hundreds of its alumni now at OpenAI, the scope of the case may still widen.