TSMC sues former senior vice-president who joined Intel over trade secrets

[TAIPEI] Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) sued a former executive who left to work for Intel, saying there is a high likelihood that he leaked trade secrets from the world’s most advanced chipmaker to his new employer.

TSMC said it filed the lawsuit against Lo Wen-jen, a former senior vice-president, on Tuesday (Nov 25) at the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court. It said the legal action was based on the non-compete agreement that Lo, 75, had signed during his employment.

“There is a high probability that Lo uses, leaks, discloses, delivers, or transfers TSMC’s trade secrets and confidential information to Intel, thus making legal actions (including claiming damages for breach of contract) necessary”, TSMC said in a statement.

Intel and Taiwanese prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment. Last week, Intel’s chief executive officer Tan Lip-Bu dismissed speculation about any wrongdoing and said his company respects intellectual property rights in an interview with Bloomberg News. Lo could not be reached for comment at the time.

Lo was at one point in charge of research and technology development at TSMC and played a key role in facilitating the mass production of cutting-edge chips, including those used to make AI accelerators.

After a tenure spanning more than two decades, Lo left TSMC in July. The company said Lo had failed to disclose in his exit interview that he was planning to work for Intel, telling company lawyers he would join an academic institution.

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Now valued at more than US$1.15 trillion, TSMC has become the undisputed global leader in contract chipmaking, surpassing semiconductor pioneer Intel. The company’s proprietary data and fabrication techniques are highly prized trade secrets and a matter of strategic importance for the self-governing island. BLOOMBERG