Taiwan prosecutors said on Wednesday that they indicted three people for theft of trade secrets from chipmaker TSMC (2330.TW), accusing them of conspiring to use the information to help Japan’s Tokyo Electron (8035.T) in competing for TSMC supplier deals for the 2-nanometer process.
The three defendants included a former TSMC employee, surnamed Chen, who after joining chipmaking tools supplier Tokyo Electron had allegedly solicited help from his former colleagues for the information on TSMC’s technology trade secret, the prosecutors said.
They said they were recommending a combined 14-year prison term for Chen for violating Taiwan’s trade secrets and national security laws.
TSMC said in an emailed statement that it had a zero-tolerance policy toward any actions that compromise the protection of trade secrets or harm the company's interests and it was committed to "safeguarding our core competitiveness".
"Such violations are dealt with strictly and pursued to the fullest extent of the law," it said.
"To ensure this, we will continue to strengthen our internal management and monitoring systems and will work closely with relevant regulatory authorities as necessary to protect our competitive advantage and operational stability."
Tokyo Electron did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors said it was the first case brought under Taiwan’s National Security Law involving the theft of core technologies.
TSMC's 2-nanometer chip technology is the most advanced technology in the semiconductor industry in terms of both density and energy efficiency, according to the company's website.
On August 5, Taiwanese authorities said they have detained three people for allegedly stealing technology trade secrets from TSMC. Tokyo Electron later confirmed that a former employee of its Taiwan subsidiary was involved in the case.
