Apple shares ‘shocking evidence’ against former employee accused of stealing company data for OpenAI
TechCrunch Amanda Silberling ● Covered by 2 sources
Apple says a former employee used its secrets at OpenAI and tried to hide it. Now it’s asking a court to stop OpenAI’s hardware work while it digs deeper.
Based on reporting by TechCrunch, Amanda Silberling — read the original for the full story.
Summary, retelling and take written by AI under human oversight; images are AI-generated illustrations. How we work · Report an error
Apple has turned up what it calls “shocking evidence” in its case against OpenAI, and the latest round comes from a laptop that once belonged to former Apple employee Chang Liu. Liu’s lawyer handed the machine over earlier this month, and Apple says what it found supports the claim that company trade secrets were taken for OpenAI’s benefit.
According to Apple, Liu used a confidential Apple circuit schematic while working at OpenAI. The company also says he used a tool with the same name as an internal Apple engineering application. Apple goes further than that. It says OpenAI knew Liu had access to Apple data, and that Liu brought in another OpenAI worker, Yu-Ting Peng, to help destroy evidence in June after he learned Apple was investigating him.
The filing tries to frame the laptop as proof that this is not a broad fishing expedition. Apple says the machine shows both the use of its trade secrets and the destruction of evidence. The details that back those claims are redacted from public view, but earlier filings included text messages from Liu showing he knew he still had access to Apple files. Those messages, Apple said, were punctuated with “crying laughing” emojis.
OpenAI has already pushed back hard. It has said Liu only accessed Apple files after leaving the company, and only to help former colleagues who asked him for assistance. In a blog post earlier this month, OpenAI also argued that Apple was blaming “residual access” while ignoring what it called a common problem caused by Apple’s failure to manage system access when people leave. Apple’s answer is different: Liu kept access because he “exploited a rare, previously unknown authentication bug.”
Apple is now asking for a preliminary injunction that would block OpenAI from working on hardware based on Apple’s technology while the lawsuit plays out. It also wants expedited discovery, since it believes more former Apple employees may be involved. In its initial filing, Apple said more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI. TechCrunch says it has asked OpenAI for comment on the new allegations.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is what happens when a company with a giant memory starts suing a company with a giant appetite. OpenAI keeps acting like talent mobility is the same thing as permission, and Apple is plainly trying to make that argument expensive. More lawsuits like this, and “move fast” starts to look a lot like “keep the lawyers busy.”
Read more about this at: TechCrunch