Apple presents “shocking evidence” against a former employee who left for OpenAI

Apple has presented in court what it calls “shocking evidence” to back up its accusations against OpenAI: according to the company, former employees stole its trade secrets on behalf of the ChatGPT maker. The new details emerged after lawyers for former Apple engineer Chen Lu, who now works at OpenAI, handed over his old work laptop for forensic examination earlier this month.

What was found on the laptop

Apple claims that Lu used a confidential Apple electrical circuit schematic at OpenAI, along with a tool whose name matches an internal Apple engineering application. According to the plaintiff, OpenAI was “well aware” that Lu had retained access to Apple's data. What's more, in June, upon learning of the investigation that had been launched, Lu allegedly enlisted an OpenAI colleague, Yu-Ting Peng, to destroy the evidence.

“The MacBook reflects the extremely limited amount of information that the defendants produced — and only after weeks of delays. It shows that Apple is not engaged in a ‘fishing expedition,’ but that its trade secrets are being used and evidence is being destroyed,” the court filing states.

The new materials themselves are under seal, but Apple's earlier filings cited Lu's messages: he reportedly sprinkled his notes about still having access to Apple's files with the “laughing so hard I'm crying” emoji.

The dispute over “residual access”

OpenAI had previously defended Lu, arguing that he accessed Apple's files only after leaving the company — at the request of former colleagues who needed help. In a blog post, OpenAI stated that “residual access” is a widespread problem at Apple itself, which allegedly does a poor job of managing permissions when employees leave.

Apple disagrees with that interpretation: in its version, Lu retained access because he “exploited a rare, previously unknown vulnerability in the authentication system.”

The company is seeking a preliminary injunction that would bar OpenAI from working on hardware based on Apple technology for the duration of the case, as well as expedited discovery: Apple believes other former employees may be involved. According to the original lawsuit, more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.

TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI for comment on the new accusations.

Source: TechCrunch