Apple Claims OpenAI Sat on a Key Laptop While Evidence May Have Been Deleted
A MacBook at the centre of a trade-secrets lawsuit turned up months late, and Apple says what's on it makes things worse for OpenAI.
Key points
- Apple filed for expedited discovery (faster access to evidence) in its trade-secrets lawsuit against OpenAI on Monday.
- A MacBook belonging to former Apple employee Chang Liu was only handed over to Apple on 21 August, months after the lawsuit began in July.
- Inspection of the laptop allegedly found Liu had downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic and used it during his work at OpenAI.
- OpenAI denies any wrongdoing, saying Liu had no use for Apple's confidential information.
A laptop sat in OpenAI's possession for months. When Apple finally got hold of it, the company says what it found was not reassuring.
Apple is now pushing for "expedited discovery", which means getting access to evidence faster than the standard court timeline allows. The reason, Apple argues, is that critical digital clues are at risk of vanishing.
What is this lawsuit actually about?
Apple accuses OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, of stealing trade secrets to build an AI hardware device. Three former Apple employees who later joined OpenAI are at the centre of the case.
The most prominent is Chang Liu. According to Apple's court filing, Liu took a company-owned MacBook with him when he left Apple. OpenAI had that laptop from the very start of the lawsuit in July but, Apple alleges, never bothered to inspect it. The laptop was only handed over on 21 August.
Once Apple's forensic team got in, they say they found Liu had not only downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic (a technical blueprint for hardware components) but had actively used it while working at OpenAI. Apple also claims Liu kept access to Apple's third-party cloud storage after leaving the company, and that colleagues at OpenAI knew about it.
There is more. Apple says the inspection turned up messages in which Liu allegedly discussed the need to "restore" and then "start using" Apple-owned devices after learning Apple had launched an internal investigation in June. To Apple's lawyers, that reads like a plan to cover tracks.
"Important forensic artifacts on which forensic inspections rely, such as logs, metadata, and usage records, are transient and at risk of being lost, overwritten, or destroyed," Apple states in the filing, as reported by The Verge AI.
What does OpenAI say?
OpenAI pushes back hard. The company calls the dispute "a mess of Apple's own making", pointing to what it describes as a chaotic employee exit process on Apple's side.
OpenAI's position: there is no evidence Liu accessed Apple information improperly, and he had no reason to. The company did not address the timing of the laptop handover directly.
What does this mean for ordinary people?
For regular users of Apple or OpenAI products, nothing changes today. No personal data belonging to customers is at issue here.
The case matters more broadly because it tests how aggressively companies can pursue former employees and rivals when AI talent moves around. The AI industry sees a huge amount of staff movement right now, and the outcome here could set a tone for how those moves are handled legally.
Expect more filings before this one is resolved.
Common questions
What is a trade secret?
A trade secret is confidential business information, like a product blueprint or a private process, that gives a company a competitive edge. Sharing or using it without permission can be illegal.
What is forensic data in this context?
Forensic data refers to the digital footprints a device leaves behind: logs of which files were opened, when, and by whom. This data can disappear when a device is reset or updated, which is why Apple says time matters.
Could this affect ChatGPT or Apple products I use?
No. The dispute is between the two companies over alleged internal data misuse. Your ChatGPT account and your Apple devices are not involved.
