TSMC Sues SMIC
Online staff -- EDN, December 22, 2003
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is suing Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) over patents and trade secrets, the company announced today.
In the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California on Friday, foundry king TSMC alleges that its China-based competitor obtained TSMC trade secrets and infringed TSMC patents. For example, the complaint states that SMIC hired more than 100 TSMC employees and asked some of them to provide SMIC with its trade secrets, TSMC claimed. The suit alleges that a SMIC official asked a then-TSMC manager to obtain TSMC process information and forward it to SMIC.
“We feel that we have no other choice than to proceed through the courts in order to protect our technology,” said Dick Thurston, VP and general counsel for TSMC, in a statement. “It is our obligation to protect our patents and trade secrets to maintain shareholder value.”
SMIC could not be reached for comment.
The suit asks for injunctive relief along with monetary damages.
