Apple Alleges OpenAI Destroying Evidence in Trade Secret Lawsuit

Apple has filed a motion for “expedited discovery” in its trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI, stating that newly discovered materials indicate evidence faces risks of being lost or destroyed. The case was filed in July at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where Apple alleges several former employees provided confidential information to OpenAI to assist in developing AI hardware. Apple stated it did not receive one company MacBook held by former engineer Chang Liu after his departure until August 21. A preliminary forensic examination reportedly found that Liu had downloaded an Apple-proprietary circuit schematic diagram and used it while working at OpenAI. Apple also alleged that individuals within OpenAI were aware that Liu could still access third-party cloud storage systems utilized by Apple. According to messages on the device, Liu discussed recovering and repurposing Apple equipment upon learning about the internal investigation. Consequently, Apple expressed concern that forensic data such as logs, metadata, and usage records might be overwritten or deleted. However, these claims remain allegations made by Apple, and no findings have been established by the court thus far. In response, OpenAI attributed the dispute to chaotic employee offboarding and device management processes at Apple itself, asserting there is currently no evidence that Liu accessed Apple’s information improperly or for improper purposes, and denying that her work required using Apple’s proprietary materials.