Two firms accusing TSMC suspected of being 'patent trolls': TIPO head

Taipei, June 16 (CNA) Liao Cheng-wei (廖承威), director general of Taiwan's Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), said on Tuesday that he suspected two firms currently suing contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) for patent infringement are so-called "patent trolls."

When asked whether TIPO has knowledge of the details of the case filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) recently, Liao told reporters that based on information the office has secured, the two Irish companies are patent trolls, seeking licensing fees or settlement money.

A patent troll refers to a company that buys patents not for manufacturing products but to threaten other companies for compensation, accusing them of using its patents.

Patent trolls, formally called Non-Practicing Entities or Patent Assertion Entities, were responsible for more than 50 percent of lawsuits in the United States in 2025, costing targeted businesses tens of billions of U.S. dollars a year, according to the U.S.-based LegalCharity website.

Axios, an American news outlet, reported on June 14 that Longitude Licensing and Marlin Semiconductor, the two Irish companies, have filed a complaint with the USITC, accusing TSMC of using their patented technology to produce chips. TSMC faces an investigation launched by the USITC based on the complaint.

The two Irish companies are subsidiaries of IPValue Management, owned by Vector Capital, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, according to Axios, which also reported Marlin Semiconductor, in particular, acquired a portion of the relevant patents from United Microelectronics Corp., a smaller contract chipmaker in Taiwan, in 2021.

TSMC has filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board to challenge the firms' allegations, saying the patents in question are invalid, Liao said.

TSMC could argue that the patents questioned by the Irish firms have been published so they lacked novelty or inventiveness, thereby invalidating the patents. If the argument is accepted, the firms will have to withdraw their petition against the chipmaker, he said.

TSMC has established a lead over its peers in research and development and has a strong IP team so TIPO has faith in the chipmaker's technology and patent strength, Liao said.

Meanwhile, four Republican lawmakers have urged the USITC to block imports of foreign-made chips found to infringe U.S. patents in the case involving TSMC, Axios reported, citing a letter from the U.S. lawmakers to ITC Chair Amy Karpel.