Apple has escalated its legal battle with OpenAI, presenting what it describes as “shocking evidence” to support allegations that former employees stole trade secrets for the artificial intelligence company’s benefit.
The latest claims emerged after legal counsel for former Apple employee Chang Liu, who now works at OpenAI, handed over Liu’s former Apple work laptop for investigation earlier this month. Apple says its examination of the device has strengthened its case and provided evidence relevant to its allegations concerning the use and destruction of confidential information.
According to Apple’s latest filing, Liu allegedly used a confidential Apple circuit schematic while working at OpenAI. The company also claims he used a tool that shares its name with an internal Apple engineering application. Apple further alleges that OpenAI was “well-aware” of Liu’s access to Apple data.
The company has also accused Liu of involving OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng in efforts to destroy evidence in June, after Liu learned that Apple was investigating him. Apple argues that the laptop provides evidence that its investigation is focused on specific concerns rather than an attempt to search indiscriminately for wrongdoing.
“The MacBook represents the very limited information Defendants provided so far (and only after weeks of delay), and shows Apple is not conducting ‘fishing expeditions’ but that its trade secrets are being used and evidence is being destroyed,” the filing reads.
The newest evidence remains redacted from public view. However, earlier Apple filings included text messages from Liu in which he appeared to acknowledge that he retained access to Apple files after leaving the company. The messages were punctuated with “crying laughing” emojis, according to the filings cited in the case.
OpenAI has previously defended Liu, disputing Apple’s interpretation of his access to company files. The company said Liu accessed Apple files only after leaving the company because former colleagues had asked him for assistance.
“Apple now tries to shift the blame to ‘residual access,’ but they also don’t disclose that this is a common issue with Apple which is caused by them failing to properly manage system access when people leave,” OpenAI wrote in a blog post earlier this month.
Apple, however, has offered a different explanation for Liu’s continued access. The company claims he “exploited a rare, previously unknown authentication bug” to obtain confidential files after leaving Apple for OpenAI.
The competing accounts place the management of employee access to confidential information at the centre of the dispute, while Apple’s latest allegations raise broader questions within the case over how company data was accessed and handled after employees moved between two of the technology industry’s most prominent companies.
Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction that would prevent OpenAI from working on hardware based on Apple’s technology while the lawsuit continues. It is also seeking expedited discovery, a fast-tracked process for gathering evidence, arguing that additional former Apple employees may be implicated.
The scale of the employment links between the two companies adds further significance to the dispute. According to Apple’s initial filing, more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.
TechCrunch has requested comment from OpenAI on Apple’s newest allegations.
