Apple presented “shocking evidence” in its lawsuit against OpenAI that strengthens its allegation that former employee Chang Liu used the company’s trade secrets for OpenAI’s benefit. Liu’s lawyers turned over his former Apple work computer for inspection earlier this month. Apple alleges that Liu used a confidential Apple circuit diagram while working at OpenAI and benefited from a tool that shared its name with an internal engineering practice at the company.
The company also alleges that OpenAI knew Liu had access to Apple’s data and that, after learning in June that Apple was investigating him, Liu tried to destroy evidence with the help of OpenAI employee Yu-Ting Peng. Much of the new evidence has been sealed from the public. Earlier filings included messages showing that Liu knew he had retained access to Apple files.
OpenAI argues that Liu accessed the files to help former colleagues after leaving Apple and says the issue stemmed from Apple’s failure to properly manage system access when employees leave. Apple, meanwhile, says Liu exploited a “rare and previously unknown authentication vulnerability.”
Apple has asked the court for a temporary restraining order that would prevent OpenAI from developing hardware based on Apple technology while the lawsuit proceeds, as well as expedited discovery. The company says other former employees could also become involved in the proceedings. According to Apple’s initial filing, more than 400 former Apple employees currently work at OpenAI.
Why it matters
The lawsuit raises questions not only about the actions of a single employee, but also about how companies manage the access of departing staff and protect trade secrets. If Apple’s request for a temporary restraining order is granted, OpenAI’s process of developing hardware based on Apple technology could face direct legal restrictions. Another critical aspect of the proceedings is that the scope of the allegations cannot be fully assessed from the outside because a significant portion of the new evidence is not publicly available. Apple’s statement that other former employees could also be included in the investigation leaves open the question of whether the dispute will remain limited to a single access incident. OpenAI’s defense, meanwhile, shifts the focus of the debate from Liu’s intent to how Apple manages system access.
Background
Apple is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 42 news articles mentioning the name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated September 6, 2026.