Apple seeks expedited discovery, alleging OpenAI destroys evidence

Apple filed a request for expedited discovery in the lawsuit it is pursuing against OpenAI, alleging the company is actively destroying evidence needed. According to Bloomberg, in a filing submitted on Monday Apple accuses OpenAI of having delivered to its hands only recently a MacBook that was used by a former employee at the center of the case, containing communications about “the destruction of forensic data types that Apple needs”.

The lawsuit centers on three former Apple employees who moved to OpenAI, including Chang Liu, who, according to the allegations, retained a MacBook owned by Apple after his departure. Apple claims OpenAI possessed the laptop since the start of the proceedings in July, but refrained from examining it and transferred it to Apple only on 21 August. In Apple’s examination it was found that Liu not only downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic, but also used it in his work at OpenAI.

The findings revealed that Liu and others at OpenAI were “well aware” of Liu’s ongoing access to a third-party cloud storage system belonging to Apple. Apple also disclosed communications in which Liu apparently discussed the “need to ‘reconstruct’ and then ‘start using’ Apple-owned devices” after learning of the internal investigation in June. According to Apple, “the newly discovered evidence demonstrates the real risk of evidence destruction”, noting that forensic artifacts such as logs, metadata and usage records are transient and may disappear, be corrupted or be destroyed.

OpenAI, in its own filing, claims “this dispute is a mess that Apple created itself”, accusing Apple of blaming others even though its employee departure process “is a mess”. OpenAI insists that “there is no evidence Liu accessed Apple confidential information by improper means or for an improper purpose”, and adds that regarding Liu “there is no use of Apple confidential information”.