TSMC sues ex-executive suspected of giving trade secrets to Intel

Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit against former executive Lo Wei-jen (羅唯仁) for violating the terms of his employment, amid suspicion that Lo stole TSMC's trade secrets and leaked them to its American competitor, Intel Corp.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, TSMC said it had filed a suit against Lo at the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court, over his violations of the Trade Secrets Act, the terms of his employment, and confidentiality and noncompete agreements he had signed.

According to the company, Lo was hired by TSMC as a vice president in 2004 and was promoted to senior vice president in 2014. He retired from TSMC on July 27 of this year.

In March 2024, Lo was appointed senior vice president for corporate strategy and development, a department that advises the company's chairman and CEO but does not oversee or have management responsibility for research and development, the statement said.

Despite taking his new corporate strategy role, Lo continued convening meetings and requesting reports from the R&D department, in order to understand technologies currently under development, TSMC said.

During his tenure, Lo signed confidentiality and noncompete agreements, and upon his retirement, he also received a briefing from TSMC's chief legal officer on the legal restrictions he would remain under.

Lo said at the time that he planned to enter academia, and did not reveal plans to take a position at Intel, TSMC said.

By subsequently taking an executive vice president position at Intel, Lo is "highly likely" to have used, disclosed, delivered or transferred TSMC's trade secrets or confidential information to a competitor, TSMC said.

Lo's actions "necessitated" a legal response from TSMC, including seeking compensation for violation of contract, the company added.

TSMC's lawsuit comes after the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office announced last week that it had initiated a probe into the actions of Lo, whom media reports allege stole restricted information on TSMC's 2 nanometer, A16 and A14 processes before his retirement.

Prosecutors have yet to file criminal charges against Lo.