Chip designer VIA Technologies Inc (威盛) said it is seeking NT$4.14 billion (US$139 million) in damages in a lawsuit against PC vendor Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), its subsidiary ASMedia Technology Inc (祥碩科技) and company executives for misappropriating trade secrets.
VIA’s move came after prosecutors on Nov. 8 decided to pursue criminal proceedings against ASMedia and four employees, including research and development division vice president Chang Chi (張棋), after concluding a more than year-long investigation into the alleged misappropriation of VIA’s trade secrets and contravention of the Copyright Act (著作權法).
ASMedia chairman Jerry Shen (沈振來), president Lin Che-wei (林哲偉) and other employees stole VIA’s intellectual property related to USB technology, the chipmaker said in a statement on Tuesday night.
Photo: CNA
“In addition to protecting the interests of VIA and our shareholders, the aim of this suit is to ensure that our industry operates in a healthy market environment that fosters innovation and promotes fair competition,” VIA chief executive officer Chen Wen-chi (陳文琦) said.
ASMedia, a 49-percent holding of Asustek, designs controller chips used in data storage.
In addition to seeking damages, VIA asked the court to stop ASMedia from making and selling chips that infringed on its intellectual property rights.
VIA shares jumped 1.49 percent to NT$27.30 yesterday, while those of ASMedia and Asustek plunged 2.56 percent and 2.34 percent to NT$32.35 and NT$271 respectively.
Lin, a former VIA executive, left the company in 2007 for ASMedia, along with dozens of VIA employees. VIA accused Lin of stealing the firm’s intellectual property related to USB technology, including host and device controllers, that are used in computing and consumer electronics products, including PCs, external hard disk drives and peripheral devices.
The government amended the Trade Secret Act (營業秘密法) earlier this year to enhance the nation’s intellectual property protection laws. One key reform included increasing the penalties for intellectual property crimes, so that any person who misappropriates trade secrets in Taiwan with the intent to use them overseas may be imprisoned for up to 10 years and fined up to US$1.7 million, or possibly more if there are substantial illicit gains.
Asustek yesterday said that VIA’s accusations were groundless.
“As a victim of the VIA-ASMedia lawsuit, Asustek will take legal action to safeguard its rights,” the company said.
Asustek chief financial officer David Chang (張偉明) told a press conference that the company has suffered from media reports about VIA’s lawsuit.
Chang said VIA’s move had “caused huge trouble” for the company and raised concern among Asustek’s partners, clients, investors and employees.
“We will fight to the end,” Asustek chairman Johnny Shih (施崇棠) said, adding that VIA’s action was “suspicious” and meant to “disrupt Asustek’s operations.”
Shen, who is also Asustek’s CEO, joined the press briefing through a video teleconference.
“It’s totally unreasonable,” Shen said of VIA’s lawsuit against him and Asustek.
Shen urged VIA to take “standard” legal actions rather than leaking information to the media and causing Asustek unnecessary trouble.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure