A former Apple engineer allegedly celebrated after discovering a glitch that let him secretly access confidential company files while he was developing hardware for a competitor, a lawsuit claims.
Chang Liu, who left Apple for OpenAI in January, found an âauthentication bugâ that kept his access to Appleâs internal file system intact and used it for weeks to pull confidential material, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Apple filed the lawsuit Friday, asking for a court order barring OpenAI from using its trade secrets.
Liu messaged a former colleague âLOLâ and called the access âso funny,â the legal complaint stated. His coworker, Yu-Ting âAlyssaâ Peng, responded âIâm ready,â and later left Apple to join OpenAI in April. Liu further advised Peng on ways to transfer files from Apple computers âto avoid trouble with the security team.â
âAt Apple, our teams are constantly developing breakthrough technologies to create the best products and services in the world, and protecting their work and intellectual property is something we take very seriously,â an Apple spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation Wednesday. âRecently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Appleâs secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products. We will always defend our teamsâ hard work and innovations, and we are taking all appropriate steps to do so.â
OpenAI and Weil, Gotshal & Manges each did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundationâs request for comment.
OpenAIâs chief hardware office, Tang Tan, is another defendant named in the case. He previously worked for Apple for twenty four years, and he allegedly directed candidates to bring âactual partsâ like batteries and logic boards from Apple for âshow and tellâ sessions during interviews.
More than 400 ex-Apple employees now work at OpenAI, Apple acknowledged in the complaint.
âWhile we take these allegations seriously, weâre not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit,â OpenAI told Bloomberg reporter Ed Ludlow on Tuesday.
âWe have no interest in other companiesâ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere,â the company told TechCrunch.
OpenAIâs first consumer product will be a âhumanlike AI companion that lives in the home,â anonymous sources told Bloomberg. The device is a portable smart speaker without a screen, intended to serve as an AI-centric home computer.
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