Apple Reveals Forensic Evidence From Chang Liu’s MacBook in OpenAI Lawsuit

Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:

In today’s filing, Apple says that Liu’s lawyers recently handed over his MacBook that he used after leaving Apple. According to Apple, an “initial forensic analysis” of that MacBook revealed four things, quoted from Apple’s filing:

  • Mr. Liu not only downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic but also used it in his work at OpenAI;

  • Far from his unauthorized access to Apple’s third-party cloud storage being unknown to him, Mr. Liu and others at OpenAI were well-aware of that access;

  • Mr. Liu, upon learning of Apple’s internal investigation of him, sent instructions for destroying evidence to an OpenAI colleague who confirmed she would comply; and

  • Mr. Liu used a tool in his work at OpenAI that has the same name as an internal Apple engineering application used for Apple development work.

9to5Mac is hosting a copy of the original filing from Apple’s lawyers.

The first point seems really bad for OpenAI. On the fourth point, I’m not sure what Apple is alleging here — I think they’re alleging that Liu took an Apple internal engineering app with him over to OpenAI? This is the entirety of that allegation from Apple’s filing:

D. New evidence shows previously unknown use of a tool at OpenAI that has the same name as an Apple internal engineering tool.

The MacBook also reveals additional acts of potential trade secret misappropriation previously unknown to Apple. While working at OpenAI, Mr. Liu referred to using a tool and related software packages with names identical to proprietary internal engineering tools used at Apple.

It sounds like the MacBook Apple examined didn’t have the proprietary app on it — just emails or messages where Liu referenced using it.

★ Tuesday, 1 September 2026