Apple has provided the court with new details that it says demonstrate the use of confidential technical information within OpenAI, as part of a lawsuit accusing former employees of transferring trade secrets for the benefit of the artificial intelligence company. The latest developments center on a laptop used by former employee Chang Liu, who now works at OpenAI, and which his lawyers handed over for examination earlier in August 2026.
According to Apple’s filing, Liu used a confidential electrical schematic from Apple’s systems in his work at OpenAI, along with a tool bearing a name similar to that of an internal engineering application at the company. Apple says OpenAI was “fully aware” of Liu’s access to its data, and that he enlisted his colleague Yu-Ting Peng in an attempt to destroy evidence in June after learning that Apple had begun investigating him.
The new evidence is partially redacted from the public version of the court filing, but earlier filings included text messages attributed to Liu that, according to Apple, indicate he understood that he still had access to company files. Apple says this access was not merely residual authorization after he left his job, but resulted from exploiting a rare authentication vulnerability that had not previously been known.
Two Conflicting Accounts of Access After the Employee’s Departure
OpenAI argues that Liu accessed Apple files after his employment there ended to assist former colleagues who had asked for his support. It also said in an earlier blog post that Apple was attempting to blame “residual access,” although, according to the company, the problem is common and results from failing to manage system permissions properly when employees leave.
Apple, by contrast, argues that the laptop was handed over after weeks of delay, and that its contents show that it is not conducting a baseless fishing expedition, but is investigating the use of its trade secrets and the destruction of potential evidence. These allegations do not constitute a final judgment, and OpenAI had not, according to the source material, commented on the latest accusations by the time of publication.
What Changes in Practice?
Apple is asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction preventing OpenAI from working on hardware that relies on Apple technologies throughout the proceedings. It is also seeking to expedite discovery procedures because it believes other former employees may have been involved in the case. In its initial filing, the company said that more than 400 former Apple employees currently work at OpenAI.
The case is significant for the technology sector because it brings together two sensitive factors: employee movement between competing companies and the persistence of digital permissions after employment ends. However, the source does not yet establish that OpenAI unlawfully used any trade secret, nor does it determine whether access to Apple files resulted from a security vulnerability or from an account-management failure. The next step will depend on what the court proceedings and unredacted evidence reveal, as well as on its decision regarding Apple’s request to temporarily halt hardware work.