Former TSMC exec who left for Intel has homes raided, devices seized

[midian182]

A hot potato: TSMC's lawsuit against its former Senior VP that claims he took trade secrets with him to Intel has taken another turn. Taiwanese prosecutors have just searched the homes of Wei-Jen Lo and seized devices as part of an investigation into the claims.

TSMC filed the lawsuit this week in the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court. The filing is based on the terms of Lo's contract with the company, including the non-compete agreement he signed, and regulations such as the Trade Secrets Act.

TSMC claims there is a high probability that Lo may use, leak, disclose, deliver, or transfer TSMC's trade secrets and confidential information to Intel, thereby making legal action necessary.

It's now been reported that Lo's residences in Taipei and Hsinchu have been searched. The prosecutors' intellectual property branch said Lo is suspected of violating Taiwan's National Security Act.

Investigators seized computers, USB drives, and other evidence during the search, prosecutors said. A court has also approved a petition to seize his shares and real estate.

Wei-Jen Lo

According to local reports, investigators are looking into whether Lo took documents related to 2nm process development or TSMC's A14 and A16 processes when he left the company for Intel.

Taiwan Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said the government would closely monitor if the situation could affect Taiwan's semiconductor industry or its customer relationships. The ministry stated it will cooperate with Taiwan's High Prosecutors' Office during the investigation.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan sent an internal memo to employees after the allegations against Lo became public knowledge. Tan said the company "sees no merit to the allegations," supports its employee, and stands behind its principles.

Tan added that Lo will work in Intel's manufacturing group and its packaging business, helping revitalize Intel's engineering culture.

Lo joined TSMC back in 2004 after spending 18 years at Intel – he'd run an Intel development factory in Santa Clara, California. He started at TSMC as Vice President, rising to the position of Senior Vice President.

Lo's role in advanced process development and R&D saw him lead teams responsible for thousands of patents globally. TSMC developed and rolled out multiple next-generation process nodes under his leadership. He also contributed to the strategic direction toward the 2nm node.

In August, TSMC launched legal proceedings against three people over alleged trade secret theft to help a Japanese rival.

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Former TSMC exec who left for Intel has homes raided, devices seized

 

[candle86]

So the man goes to look for another job and before they even have proof he did anything wrong they're going to seize his home in his shares that is fascinating. I thought Taiwan was a little more evolved in this I guess sir just as much a dictatorship is mainly in China maybe there's no real difference between the ROC and the PRC

 

[Kashim]

So the man goes to look for another job and before they even have proof he did anything wrong they're going to seize his home in his shares that is fascinating. I thought Taiwan was a little more evolved in this I guess sir just as much a dictatorship is mainly in China maybe there's no real difference between the ROC and the PRC

Oh please. You're talking like the US is any different. The Orange Cockroach in the White House is ordering attacks on alleged drug boats on a regular basis now. No proof or evidence of any kind is needed, he just points at any boat and claims it's a drug boat, and they blow it up. But hey, China bad, US good, right?

Reminds me of the W. Bush days when the buzzword was "terrorist" and they could point at anyone and say he's a terrorist without any real proof. Next thing you know you're wire tapped, then you're tossed in a van and wake up in Guantanamo Bay with no lawyer, no rights, not even any kind of a charge. As long as they claimed you were a "terrorist" they could hold you indefinitely without any charges.

So yeah, before you say nonsense like "I thought Taiwan was a little more evolved" take a minute and think. We could say the exact same thing about America, that it was a little more evolved, except that it's not.

 

[candle86]

Oh please. You're talking like the US is any different. The Orange Cockroach in the White House is ordering attacks on alleged drug boats on a regular basis now. No proof or evidence of any kind is needed, he just points at any boat and claims it's a drug boat, and they blow it up. But hey, China bad, US good, right?

Reminds me of the W. Bush days when the buzzword was "terrorist" and they could point at anyone and say he's a terrorist without any real proof. Next thing you know you're wire tapped, then you're tossed in a van and wake up in Guantanamo Bay with no lawyer, no rights, not even any kind of a charge. As long as they claimed you were a "terrorist" they could hold you indefinitely without any charges.

So yeah, before you say nonsense like "I thought Taiwan was a little more evolved" take a minute and think. We could say the exact same thing about America, that it was a little more evolved, except that it's not.

Those boats are drug boats I would trust the American intelligence apparatus to be able to tell where those boats are coming from they're not blowing up all of the boats leaving Venezuela they're only blowing up specific ones.

Ask for terrorists they tag and bag them here in the States attacked the bag them in Afghanistan and Iraq actual terrorists and then they shipped them off to Guantanamo, they do have access to lawyers they don't have access to the public there is a big difference. And they were all actually charged with terrorism and because they were captured fighting against American forces as non-uniform members of a group they are charged by the American military not the civilian government you need to do a little more research.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Oh please. You're talking like the US is any different. The Orange Cockroach in the White House is ordering attacks on alleged drug boats on a regular basis now. No proof or evidence of any kind is needed, he just points at any boat and claims it's a drug boat, and they blow it up. But hey, China bad, US good, right?

Reminds me of the W. Bush days when the buzzword was "terrorist" and they could point at anyone and say he's a terrorist without any real proof. Next thing you know you're wire tapped, then you're tossed in a van and wake up in Guantanamo Bay with no lawyer, no rights, not even any kind of a charge. As long as they claimed you were a "terrorist" they could hold you indefinitely without any charges.

So yeah, before you say nonsense like "I thought Taiwan was a little more evolved" take a minute and think. We could say the exact same thing about America, that it was a little more evolved, except that it's not.

Since you started off with "The Orange cockroach" I will immediately assume what you wrote is cope and seethe about how drug dealers are getting found by searches and how that's bad, ackshually.

The US legal system goes SO easy on criminals compared to most other nations. Getting significant jail time here requires you to really screw up.

 

[RaXelliX]

So the man goes to look for another job and before they even have proof he did anything wrong they're going to seize his home in his shares that is fascinating. I thought Taiwan was a little more evolved in this I guess sir just as much a dictatorship is mainly in China maybe there's no real difference between the ROC and the PRC

He's not some innocent man looking for another job. He and every such important person has a non-compete clause in their contract. They cant immediately go and work in the same field for a competitor.

They have to wait a number of years before they can do that. If they violate this clause the results are exactly as in this case.

Plus he went a step further and took actual TSMC data to Intel.

 

[DrSuess]

So the man goes to look for another job and before they even have proof he did anything wrong they're going to seize his home in his shares that is fascinating. I thought Taiwan was a little more evolved in this I guess sir just as much a dictatorship is mainly in China maybe there's no real difference between the ROC and the PRC

I'm sure TMSC has logs of all of the proprietary and company sensitive documents he accessed. They made the assessment of IP theft because he was probably accessing documents he didn't need to access to do his job.

 

[Burty117]

The US legal system goes SO easy on criminals compared to most other nations. Getting significant jail time here requires you to really screw up.

Or copy a few Nintendo games, then you’re in jail for longer than any murder would give.

 

[candle86]

He's not some innocent man looking for another job. He and every such important person has a non-compete clause in their contract. They cant immediately go and work in the same field for a competitor.

They have to wait a number of years before they can do that. If they violate this clause the results are exactly as in this case.

Plus he went a step further and took actual TSMC data to Intel.

So far I've seen no proof he took anything and quite frankly not can beat clauses make zero sense, The man should have started a job with Intel and simply moved his family to Arizona that would have made way more sense for him because now you're dealing with the corruption in Taiwan. I wish Trump would get involved here he could apply the right amount of pressure.

Also it's absolutely rich that the Taiwanese think we may have stolen their technology their entire semiconductor industry exists because they stole it from us in the late 80s via corporate espionage entiring American engineers and having them take confidential information with them. They only have an industry because they stole it the first place so they're also hypocrites.