Apple ratcheted up its lawsuit against OpenAI on Monday, telling a federal judge that the ChatGPT maker is destroying evidence while a former iPhone engineer used a confidential Apple circuit schematic in his new job.
In a court brief filed in support of expedited discovery, Apple said OpenAI is actively destroying crucial evidence in the Northern District of California case, which accuses the AI company, hardware chief Tang Yew Tan, former Apple engineer Chang Liu, and io Products of misappropriating hardware trade secrets. Apple also alleged that Liu “not only downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic but also used it in his work” at OpenAI.
The filing comes as Apple presses for early document production, forensic imaging of devices and accounts, and depositions of key witnesses. OpenAI has sought to dismiss the suit and has opposed Apple’s request for a fast-track discovery schedule and a preliminary injunction that would bar defendants from using or disclosing alleged Apple secrets while the case proceeds.
Apple sued in July, claiming a pattern of theft after OpenAI hired hundreds of former Apple employees and acquired Jony Ive’s hardware startup io. The complaint centers on Liu, an eight-year Apple senior systems electrical engineer who left in January 2026, and Tan, a 24-year Apple veteran who led iPhone and Watch product design and is now OpenAI’s chief hardware officer. Apple says Liu kept an Apple-issued laptop, exploited residual network access and an authentication bug, and downloaded dozens of confidential files—engineering presentations, specs for unreleased products, and manufacturing details for main logic boards—while already working for OpenAI. Tan, Apple alleges, used internal Apple project names in interviews and encouraged recruits to bring parts, prototypes, and supplier information.
OpenAI has denied the claims, calling the lawsuit careless and “oddly personal,” and saying it has no interest in Apple’s trade secrets. It has published messages it says show Apple employees contacting Liu after he left and asking for technical help, and it argues Apple delayed raising the core allegations for months.
As Bloomberg News’ Chris Welch and other reporters covering the Silicon Valley hardware race have noted, the case sits at the collision of two of tech’s most closely watched product efforts: Apple’s next devices under new CEO John Ternus and OpenAI’s push into consumer hardware after buying io. A hearing on Apple’s expedited-discovery motion is scheduled for Oct. 1 before Judge Edward Davila, though the court could rule sooner. Both companies declined additional comment beyond prior statements.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple just told a federal judge that OpenAI isn’t merely sitting on alleged stolen hardware secrets — it’s destroying the evidence.
That’s the new filing: expedited discovery, because the trail is going cold on purpose. Apple also says former Apple engineer Chang Liu didn’t just download a confidential circuit schematic after he left Cupertino. He used it at OpenAI.
Remember OpenAI’s line? “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.” Cute. Now Cupertino is in court arguing the ChatGPT crowd is shredding the paper trail while racing a consumer gadget built on other people’s decades of work.
Liu kept access. Files walked. Prototypes and supplier intel were allegedly on the interview checklist. Hardware chief Tang Tan — 24 years at Apple — is named. io is named. The whole hardware moonshot is named.
OpenAI calls the suit “oddly personal.” Apple calls the hardware effort rotten at the core. One of those characterizations involves actual court papers and download logs. The other involves a blog post.
If you have nothing to hide, you don’t need a shredder. If your first device depends on Apple’s manufacturing playbook, you definitely don’t want a forensic image of the laptops.
Judge Davila gets this in October. Until then, OpenAI can keep insisting it’s all a misunderstanding. Apple is asking the court to look before the hard drives get “accidentally” wiped.
Typical.
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