Tokyo Electron Confirms No Appeal in TSMC Trade Secret Case

(Taipei, 21st, Central News Agency, by reporters Lin Chang-shun and Liu Shih-yi) In the trade secret case involving former TSMC engineer Chen Li-ming and others, the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court sentenced Tokyo Electron to a three-year suspended sentence, ordering it to pay NT$100 million to TSMC and NT$50 million to the public treasury. Both Tokyo Electron and the High Prosecutors Office have not appealed, and the verdict was finalized yesterday. Separately, the court stated that defendants Lu Yi-yin, Chen Li-ming, and Chen Wei-chieh have filed appeals. The appeal period for the remaining defendants and the prosecutor has not yet expired, so it is uncertain if they will appeal. The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office stated today that after review, prosecutors determined that the original judgment contained no errors in its findings of fact or application of law, and therefore decided not to appeal. According to the prosecution's indictment, from the second half of 2023 to the first half of last year, Chen Li-ming, in an effort to help Tokyo Electron secure a position as an equipment supplier for more of TSMC's advanced process sites, repeatedly asked then-current TSMC engineers Wu Ping-chun and Ge Yi-ping to provide key technologies and trade secrets. These were photographed and reproduced to enable Tokyo Electron to review and improve its etching machine performance to qualify for mass production supply for TSMC's 2nm process etching sites. The Intellectual Property Branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office indicted Chen Li-ming, Wu Ping-chun, and Ge Yi-ping on August 27 of last year for crimes including the extraterritorial use of national core key technology trade secrets under the National Security Act. Subsequently, it was determined that Tokyo Electron had supervisory responsibility for Chen Li-ming, and the company was additionally indicted. Prosecutors also discovered that Tokyo Electron's hard drives still contained TSMC's national core key technology, namely "IC manufacturing technology for processes of 14nm and below and its key gases, chemicals, and equipment technology," and other trade secrets, leading to the additional indictment of Chen Li-ming, TSMC engineer Chen Wei-chieh, and Tokyo Electron employee Lu Yi-yin. On April 27 of this year, the court delivered its first-instance judgment, sentencing Chen Li-ming to 10 years in prison for violating the National Security Act and other offenses. Wu Ping-chun and Ge Yi-ping were sentenced to 3 years and 2 years, respectively. Chen Wei-chieh was sentenced to 6 years, and Lu Yi-yin to 10 months with a 3-year suspended sentence, and was ordered to pay NT$1 million to the public treasury. The court noted that Tokyo Electron had admitted to the crime, actively cooperated with the investigation, and, along with its parent company Tokyo Electron Limited, reached a settlement with TSMC. The court imposed a fine of NT$150 million with a 3-year suspended sentence, requiring the company to pay NT$100 million to TSMC and NT$50 million to the public treasury within one year of the final judgment. (Editor: Chang Ya-ching) 1150521