The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday dismissed Intel Corp’s comment questioning evidence in the case surrounding alleged leaks of trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), saying that all allegations must be determined by judicial authorities rather than by any one party.
Relevant evidence should be determined through the prosecutors’ investigation and the court’s verification, and “cannot be concluded based on one side’s claims,” Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) told reporters before the ministry’s weekly business meeting.
As the case involves national security and core technologies, the High Prosecutors’ Office has launched an investigation, and the government will also provide necessary assistance to TSMC regarding the potential leak of its trade secrets, he said.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
TSMC on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against former executive Lo Wei-jen (羅唯仁) in the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court over suspected contraventions of his employment contract, confidentiality and non-compete agreements, and breaches of the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法).
TSMC said Lo did not reveal any plans to take a position at Intel and instead claimed that he planned to enter academia upon retirement.
Chinese-language media have reported that Lo, who retired from TSMC in July after 21 years at the company, allegedly stole TSMC’s most advanced process technologies — including 2-nanometer, 16A and 14A nodes — before he joined Intel.
Intel on Wednesday issued a statement denying that Lo had taken confidential information before joining the US chipmaker as an executive vice president late last month.
Intel said that it maintains rigorous policies and controls that strictly prohibit the use or transfer of any third-party confidential information or intellectual property.
“Based on everything we know, we have no reason to believe there is any merit to the allegations involving Mr Lo,” Intel said in the statement.
Intel said it welcomed him back as part of its effort to “revitalize its engineering-driven, customer-first culture with a renewed focus on strengthening our x86 franchise, building a trusted US foundry, and accelerating our AI [artificial intelligence] strategy,” the statement said.
The High Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday opened an investigation into whether Lo contravened the Trade Secrets Act and the National Security Act (國家安全法).
The office yesterday said that it had directed the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau on Wednesday to search Lo’s residences in Taipei and Hsinchu County, seizing computers, USB drives and other items.
The office also obtained approval from the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court to seize Lo’s stocks and real estate, it said.
Prosecutors have not yet filed any criminal charges against Lo.
In the investigation under the National Security Act, the ministry is responsible for determining which semiconductor production technologies fall under the nation’s core key technologies, which are prohibited from being conducted overseas without permission, Kung said yesterday.
If Lo did take important data or technologies overseas for use, the ministry would provide the necessary identification for judicial authorities to determine the case, he said.
Meanwhile, the Industrial Technology Research Institute is in the process of revoking Lo’s laureate title, which was granted to him in September, Kung said, adding that it would not take long to complete the process.
Additional reporting by CNA
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