Apple is done waiting. In a Monday filing, the company asked for expedited discovery against OpenAI, arguing the ChatGPT-maker has been sitting on a MacBook that contains exactly the kind of evidence Apple needs — and that the device shows a former employee actively discussed wiping forensic data.
The laptop belonged to Chang Liu, one of three ex-Apple employees named in the trade secrets lawsuit Apple filed in July. Apple says OpenAI had the MacBook “since the start of the lawsuit” but didn’t hand it over until August 21st. When Apple’s forensic team finally got access, they allegedly found Liu had downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic and used it in his work at OpenAI. They also claim Liu retained access to Apple’s third-party cloud storage long after leaving.
The most damaging discovery, according to Apple, came from messages on the device. Liu allegedly discussed “the need to ‘restore’ and then ‘start using’ Apple-owned devices” after learning about Apple’s internal investigation in June. Apple’s filing argues that “logs, metadata, and usage records” are exactly the kind of transient artifacts that can be lost or overwritten — which is why the company wants expedited discovery now, not later.
OpenAI isn’t backing down. The company fired back that “this dispute is a mess of Apple’s own making,” blaming Apple’s employee exit process rather than any wrongdoing by Liu or OpenAI. OpenAI insists “there is no evidence that Liu accessed any Apple information through improper means or for any improper purpose” and adds that Liu “has no use for Apple confidential information.” That defense rings hollow given the circuit schematic allegedly found on the laptop — but expedited discovery requests are a high bar, and Apple will need to convince a judge that the risk of evidence destruction is real enough to skip the usual timeline. Given that OpenAI held the laptop for over a month before handing it over, Apple may have a decent argument.
