In the latest episode of 'Tech Companies Behaving Badly,' Apple has formally accused OpenAI of destroying evidence in their ongoing legal tussle. According to a filing on Monday, Apple is pushing for 'expedited discovery' because it claims OpenAI only just handed over a MacBook belonging to a former employee, Chang Liu, that contained discussions about 'destroying the types of forensic data Apple needs.'

This is the latest twist in Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI, which accuses the ChatGPT-maker of stealing trade secrets to build an AI device. The lawsuit centers on three former Apple employees who recently joined OpenAI, including Liu, who allegedly kept a company-owned MacBook after leaving Apple.

Apple claims OpenAI failed to inspect the laptop 'despite having the MacBook in their possession since the start of the lawsuit' in July. Once OpenAI finally provided the laptop to Apple on August 21st, an inspection allegedly found that Liu 'not only downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic but also used it in his work at OpenAI.' Apple also claims Liu and others at OpenAI were 'well-aware' of Liu's continued access to Apple's third-party cloud storage system.

Adding insult to injury, Apple's inspection uncovered messages in which Liu allegedly discussed 'the need to ‘restore’ and then ‘start using’ Apple-owned devices' after learning about Apple's internal investigation in June. 'The newly discovered evidence demonstrates the very real risk of evidence destruction,' Apple claims. 'Important forensic artifacts on which forensic inspections rely - such as logs, metadata, and usage records - are transient and at risk of being lost, overwritten, or destroyed.'

But OpenAI isn't taking this lying down. In its own filing, OpenAI argues that 'this dispute is a mess of Apple’s own making,' and that Apple is blaming others even though its employee exit process 'is a mess.' OpenAI maintains that 'there is no evidence that Liu accessed any Apple information through improper means or for any improper purpose,' adding that 'Liu has no use for Apple confidential information.'

So, in summary: Apple says OpenAI is hiding evidence, OpenAI says Apple is just bad at managing exits, and somewhere out there, a MacBook is feeling very, very wanted.