Taiwan prosecutors filed corporate criminal charges against Tokyo Electron Ltd.’s local subsidiary for failing to prevent an employee from allegedly stealing trade secrets related to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s cutting-edge 2-nanometer chip technology.
The indictment, announced December 2, marks the first time a corporation has been charged under Taiwan’s National Security Act for theft of what authorities classify as “national core critical technology.” Prosecutors are seeking fines totaling NT$120 million (US$3.8 million) across four counts of violating trade secrets and national security laws.
Prosecutors concluded that Tokyo Electron had supervisory responsibility over the former employee, identified by his surname Chen, but lacked concrete preventive measures despite having internal compliance rules. They stopped short of accusing the Japanese company of organizational involvement or of using TSMC’s proprietary data.
The charges follow August indictments against Chen and two current TSMC engineers, who allegedly photographed confidential parameters from TSMC’s 2nm production process. Chen purportedly sought to help Tokyo Electron improve its etching equipment to secure contracts for TSMC’s most advanced manufacturing lines. The three individuals face prison sentences of up to 14 years.
Tokyo Electron said it is verifying the announcement and reiterated that charges target only its Taiwan unit. The company previously stated it found no evidence of sensitive information being leaked to third parties.
