Apple claims OpenAI is using confidential Apple material and destroying evidence

The Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York in February 2025. Apple has claimed in a new court filing that OpenAI is destroying evidence and that a former iPhone engineer used confidential Apple material in his work at the company. | BLOOMBERG

Sep 1, 2026

Apple has escalated its legal battle against OpenAI, claiming in a new court filing that OpenAI is actively destroying crucial evidence and that former iPhone engineer Chang Liu “not only downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic but also used it in his work” at the artificial intelligence company.

The court brief was filed Monday in support of Apple’s motion for expedited pretrial fact-finding in the lawsuit, which accuses the ChatGPT-maker of stealing trade secrets. OpenAI has pushed to have the case dismissed.

Liu, who left Apple for OpenAI in January, is central to the case. He is one of more than 400 former Apple employees who went to work for the AI company, which is making a foray into the market for hardware devices.

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