In its lawsuit against OpenAI, Apple submitted what it called “shocking evidence” to bolster its allegations that former employees stole trade secrets for OpenAI’s benefit. These new details emerged after the legal adviser for former Apple employee Chang Liu – who now works at OpenAI – handed over Liu’s old Apple computer for investigation earlier this month.
Apple now accuse That Liu used a secret Apple circuit in his work at OpenAI, as well as a tool that shares its name with internal Apple engineering applications. The company claims that OpenAI was “well aware” of Liu’s access to Apple data, and that Liu enlisted OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to help destroy evidence in June when he learned Apple was investigating him.
“The MacBook represents the very limited information that the defendants have provided so far (and only after weeks of delay), and shows that Apple is not conducting “speed fishing” but that its trade secrets are being used and evidence will be destroyed,”. Filing read
While this new evidence was kept from public view, recent documents from Apple included messages from Liu – which he wrote with “crying laughing” emojis – showing that he knew he still had access to Apple files.
OpenAI has previously Protect Liu Saying that he only accessed the Apple files after he stopped working there to help a former colleague who asked for his help. “Apple is now trying to shift the blame to ‘residual access,’ but they still haven’t disclosed that this is a general problem with Apple caused by them not being able to properly manage system access when people leave,” OpenAI wrote in blog post at the beginning of this month.
But Apple claims Liu has continued access because he “used a rare, previously unknown bug.”
TechCrunch has requested comment from OpenAI on Apple’s latest allegations.
Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction – a court order to block OpenAI from working on hardware based on Apple’s technology while the case is ongoing – as well as expedited discovery, a fast process for gathering evidence, because the company alleges that former employees may be involved.
According to Apple’s initial filing, more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.
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