Apple Submits 'Shocking Evidence' in Its Trade-Secrets Fight With OpenAI
Apple says a former employee used its confidential circuit schematics at OpenAI and helped destroy evidence — and it wants a court to stop OpenAI from building hardware on Apple technology.
Published: 2026-09-01 Category: Quick Take Sources: TechCrunch
What Apple Just Filed
Apple is escalating its lawsuit against OpenAI with what it calls "shocking evidence." The new filing alleges that Chang Liu — a former Apple employee who now works at OpenAI — used a confidential Apple circuit schematic in his work at OpenAI, along with a tool sharing a name with an internal Apple engineering application. Apple further claims OpenAI was "well-aware" of Liu's access to Apple data, and that Liu enlisted OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to help destroy evidence back in June when he learned Apple was investigating him.
The evidentiary foundation shifted this month when legal counsel for Liu handed over his old Apple work laptop for forensic investigation. "The MacBook represents the very limited information Defendants provided so far (and only after weeks of delay), and shows Apple is not conducting 'fishing expeditions' but that its trade secrets are being used and evidence is being destroyed," the filing reads. The specifics are redacted from public view, but earlier filings already showed text messages from Liu — punctuated with laughing-crying emojis — indicating he knew he still had access to Apple files.
The Two Sides of the Story
OpenAI has pushed back before, arguing Liu only accessed Apple files after leaving, to help former colleagues who asked for assistance. In a blog post this month, OpenAI framed the issue as a systemic Apple failure: "Apple now tries to shift the blame to 'residual access,' but they also don't disclose that this is a common issue with Apple which is caused by them failing to properly manage system access when people leave."
Apple counters that Liu's continued access wasn't an accident of sloppy deprovisioning — it was the result of Liu exploiting "a rare, previously unknown authentication bug." That distinction matters: casual leftover access reads as an IT oversight; exploiting a hidden bug reads as deliberate intrusion. Apple also notes that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, and it wants expedited discovery because it suspects additional former staff may be implicated.
Why This Case Is Bigger Than One Engineer
Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction — a court order blocking OpenAI from working on hardware based on Apple's technology while litigation continues — plus fast-tracked evidence gathering. The stakes are industrial, not just personal. As AI labs race to design their own silicon and hardware, the boundaries of what talent and trade secrets can legally cross between companies have become a first-order competitive question.
The practical reality for the industry: every frontier lab is hiring from the same shallow pool of top hardware and ML engineers. Non-compete enforcement is weak and talent mobility is prized, but when proprietary schematics and internal tool names show up in a competitor's stack, the line between "poaching talent" and "stealing technology" gets drawn in court. This case is a live test of whether the talent flow that built the AI boom can survive contact with actual trade-secret law — and whether a preliminary injunction against hardware work can stick. Whatever the judge decides, the ruling will shape how aggressively labs can recruit from the companies they are trying to displace.
Based on reporting by Amanda Silberling at TechCrunch.