Apple is suing OpenAI over an alleged trade-secret heist, and OpenAI is going to war with a very specific counter: chat logs.
At the center of the dispute is Chang Liu, a former Apple engineer who, according to Apple, exploited a system vulnerability after leaving the company, slipped back into Apple's internal network drive, and downloaded dozens of confidential files to help OpenAI build hardware. Now OpenAI has published the messages it says Apple conveniently left out of the lawsuit.
The chat logs show that after Liu left, Apple colleagues were still operating his old work device and transferring Apple files off it. Then they reached out to Liu to ask where files were located and how projects worked. One message reportedly put it plainly: "Even though you've left, you're still the best person to ask."
OpenAI argues that this shows at least some of Liu's access to Apple materials was requested by Apple employees — not the straightforward theft Apple has described.