Apple’s claim that OpenAI is destroying evidence remains an allegation, not a court finding. In an August 31 filing, Apple asked for expedited pretrial fact-finding in its trade-secrets lawsuit, arguing that material from an Apple-issued laptop used by former engineer Chang Liu raises an immediate risk that relevant data could disappear.
Apple says OpenAI supplied the MacBook only recently, after weeks of delay. The company says it inspected the device on August 21 and found evidence that Liu downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic and used it in his OpenAI work. Apple also alleges that Liu and other people at OpenAI knew he retained unauthorized access to Apple data held by third-party cloud-storage providers. The claims were reported by The Verge and Bloomberg.
The filing further alleges that messages on the laptop show Liu instructed an OpenAI colleague to destroy evidence, and that the colleague said she would comply. Apple says messages also discussed restoring and using Apple-owned devices after Liu learned of Apple’s internal investigation. Much of the newer material is sealed or redacted from the public record, according to India Today.
What does Apple say it found on Chang Liu’s MacBook?
Apple’s account of its initial forensic review centers on four alleged findings:
- A confidential Apple circuit schematic was downloaded to the Apple-issued device.
- Liu then used that schematic in his work at OpenAI.
- Liu continued accessing Apple cloud-storage systems after leaving the company, with others at OpenAI allegedly aware of that access.
- Messages referenced deleting the forensic information Apple says it needs for the case.
Those allegations concern Liu, who left Apple for OpenAI in January. They form part of Apple’s broader suit accusing OpenAI of misappropriating trade secrets as it develops hardware products. Apple is seeking damages, an order stopping the alleged conduct, and destruction of any Apple proprietary material OpenAI holds.
OpenAI has sought dismissal of the lawsuit. In its own filing, OpenAI said the documents Liu accessed were unrelated to his work at the company and had been opened for Apple work on behalf of Apple employees, according to Bloomberg’s syndicated reporting. OpenAI has also argued that Apple’s data-security and employee-offboarding practices contributed to former employees retaining access, and described the dispute as “a mess of Apple’s own making.”
The company asked the court to sharply limit any injunction, if one is issued, saying a broader order could chill employees’ ability to change jobs. OpenAI previously said it does not have and does not want Apple’s trade secrets, India Today reported.
What happens next in Apple’s case against OpenAI?
A hearing on Apple’s motion was scheduled for October 1, according to Bloomberg. The judge has not ruled on Apple’s request or decided whether its claims about the laptop, alleged trade-secret use, or alleged destruction of evidence are true.
Apple’s request concerns discovery, the pretrial process through which parties can seek material relevant to a civil case. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34, a party may request inspection or production of specified documents, electronically stored information, and physical items in another party’s possession, custody, or control.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
