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3h ago

Taiwan Court Jails Ex-TSMC Engineer for 10 Years in Trade-Secrets Case

The sentences signal Taiwan’s use of national-security laws to protect chip know-how seen as vital to its economy.

FILE -A worker walks past the logo of TSMC or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Daniel Ceng, File)
FILE -A building of TSMC or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Daniel Ceng, File)
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Taiwan court hands down jail terms in TSMC trade secrets case

Overview

  • Taiwan’s intellectual property court in New Taipei, which ruled Monday, sentenced former TSMC engineer Chen Li-ming to 10 years in prison for stealing trade secrets.
  • Three other former TSMC employees received prison terms of two to six years, and a former Tokyo Electron worker got a 10-month sentence suspended for three years.
  • The court fined Tokyo Electron’s Taiwan unit NT$150 million, or about $5 million.
  • Judges said Chen violated the National Security Act and the Trade Secrets Act by photographing and copying TSMC materials to help Tokyo Electron improve bids as a supplier.
  • Tokyo Electron said it fired the employee, found no sign of organizational involvement, and will tighten information controls, while TSMC did not immediately comment.