Taiwan Court Sentences TSMC 2nm Trade Secret Leaker to 10 Years, Fines Tokyo Electron Subsidiary NT$150M

Gate News message, April 27 — Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court has handed down a first-instance verdict in the TSMC 2nm process trade secret case. Chen Li-ming, a former employee of both TSMC and Tokyo Electron’s Taiwan subsidiary, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, while Tokyo Electron’s Taiwan subsidiary was fined NT$150 million.

The court found that Chen joined Tokyo Electron’s Taiwan subsidiary in a marketing role after leaving TSMC and solicited advanced process materials from TSMC engineers still employed there. The stolen information was used to help Tokyo Electron secure more equipment orders from TSMC. The compromised data included trade secrets related to etching equipment used in 2nm production, with some materials obtained through photography and duplication.

Three other TSMC employees involved—Wu Bing-jun, Ge Yi-ping, and Chen Wei-jie—received sentences of 3 years, 2 years, and 6 years respectively. Tokyo Electron Taiwan subsidiary employee Lu Yi-yin was sentenced to 10 months with a 3-year probation. Tokyo Electron’s NT$150 million fine can be suspended if the company compensates TSMC NT$100 million and pays NT$50 million to the public treasury.