Awkward： Apple sued OpenAI for stealing hardware secrets. OpenAI has now published messages suggesting Apple itself kept using a former engineer after he left.

The messages appear to show Apple employees asking Chang Liu to locate internal files， explain product decisions and help with technical questions weeks after his departure.

One Apple employee wrote：

"Of course， I could ask several folks， but you are the best. Even if you don't work here anymore."

OpenAI also says Apple falsely claimed it had contacted the company and received no response. The emails show Apple's outside lawyer mistakenly thanked OpenAI's General Counsel for a phone call that never happened， then apologized.

However： None of this disproves Apple's broader trade-secret allegations. But Apple now has to explain its own offboarding failures， and why its employees continued requesting confidential help from someone it accuses of stealing confidential information.