Apple has added new evidence to its ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI. The company says the material is "shocking" and supports its claim that former employees took trade secrets to their new jobs.
The evidence came from a work laptop that once belonged to Chang Liu. Liu used to work at Apple and now works at OpenAI.
Legal counsel for Liu handed over the laptop earlier this month. Apple's lawyers reviewed it as part of the case.
What Apple Is Alleging
Apple says Liu used a confidential circuit schematic while working at OpenAI. The company also says he used a tool that shares a name with an internal Apple engineering program.
Apple claims OpenAI knew that Liu still had access to Apple data. The company argues this was not accidental.
Apple also alleges that Liu asked a colleague, Yu-Ting Peng, to help destroy evidence. This happened in June, once Liu learned Apple was investigating him.
A court filing from Apple describes the laptop as showing that its trade secrets were being used. It also says evidence was being destroyed while the case was underway.
Earlier filings from Apple included text messages from Liu. Some of those messages had "crying laughing" emojis, according to Apple. The filings suggest Liu knew he still had access to Apple files.
OpenAI's Response To The Claims
OpenAI has pushed back on Apple's version of events. The company says Liu only accessed old Apple files to help former coworkers who asked for assistance.
OpenAI also says Apple has a pattern of failing to remove system access when employees leave. In a blog post this month, the company argued that this is a common issue at Apple, not a sign of wrongdoing by Liu.
Apple disagrees. The company says Liu kept access by using a bug in Apple's authentication system that had not been known before.
TechCrunch reached out to OpenAI for comment on Apple's newest claims. A response has not yet been shared publicly.
Apple is asking the court for a preliminary injunction. This would stop OpenAI from working on any hardware based on Apple's technology while the case continues.
Apple is also asking for expedited discovery. This would speed up the evidence-gathering process.
The company says more former employees could be involved in the alleged trade secret theft. According to Apple's original filing, more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.
The case is ongoing, and no ruling has been made yet on Apple's requests for an injunction or expedited discovery.
