Apple has added new allegations and new evidence to its trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, centering on a laptop used by a former senior engineer after he left the company.
The case, reported by Engadget, focuses on Chang Liu, who previously worked as a senior system electrical engineer at Apple before joining OpenAI. Apple's forensic investigation of a laptop Liu used after leaving the company alleges that he knew he still had access to Apple's third-party cloud storage and used it to download dozens of confidential Apple files, including at least one circuit schematic.
Apple further claimed that Liu used that schematic to run simulations as part of his work for OpenAI. The company also alleged the laptop revealed that Liu "referred to using a tool and related software packages with names identical to proprietary internal engineering tools used at Apple."
The filing was submitted as part of Apple's push to obtain expedited discovery in the case. Apple said the laptop revealed previously unknown instances of stolen information that expanded the scope of its original claims.
The allegations do not stop with the download and use of files. Apple claimed that after Liu learned he was the subject of an internal investigation, he directed a coworker at OpenAI to restore any Apple-issued devices. Apple characterized that action as an attempt to erase forensic evidence that could be used against him.
The lawsuit was originally filed earlier this year. Apple requested expedited discovery in August and at that point expanded its claims to include 11 former employees it alleged had shared trade secrets with OpenAI. The current filing is the latest addition to that broader legal effort.
OpenAI has denied wrongdoing. The company responded to Apple's charges by calling them "careless, aggressive and oddly personal."
The outcome of expedited discovery, if granted, would allow Apple to gather evidence more quickly than in standard legal proceedings. No trial date has been set publicly, and the case remains in its early stages.
