TSMC lawsuit claims former exec is probably leaking secrets to Intel Taiwanese foundry TSMC believes a former executive has leaked company secrets to Intel and is testing the matter in court. The exec is Wei-Jen Lo who, according to a TSMC regulatory filing, joined the company in 2004, rose to become a senior vice-president in 2014. In 2024 he took a job in the company’s Corporate Strategy …
Intel is most definitely not in any way an academic institution.
This guy is, at the very least, a liar and has clearly breached his non-disclosure agreement.
TSMC is perfectly right to pursue the matter in court, even if it is too late. Not that Intel is in a position to profit from any knowledge illegally gained at this point in time.
Personally, I hope this guy gets what he deserves : a long stint in prison.
That doesn't prove he lied.
He may have genuinely planned to join an academic institution. Then Intel offered him a job and he changed his plans.
I don't think we have enough information to judge either way. Let's wait and let the legal process run it's course.
They're at the very least someone who changed their mind. In the middle they're a liar. At MOST they breached their non-disclosure.
And 2 of those points are immaterial. At the end of the day it's none of TSMC's business where he went to work *as long as they abide by the non-disclosure*. But if they lied, or if they simply had a change of heart, or Intel came knocking with a big sack of money to pick their brain, it's all technically OK. TSMC have zero power to say where you can work or not as while there is an NDA, there doesn't seem to be any non-compete.
"But if they lied, or if they simply had a change of heart, or Intel came knocking with a big sack of money to pick their brain, it's all technically OK."
Another issue might be if an employment contract prohibited taking on employment at a competitor for a certain period of time. That doesn't fly in all places, but for highly compensated individuals, courts will find against them. A regular worker will often not be held to non-compete clauses unless the jurisdiction is very pro-employer. Where else are you going to work if your training and experience is all in a certain industry?
>>"TSMC says the exit interview also saw its general counsel remind Lo of the non-disclosure agreement and non-compete agreement he had previously signed.
According to the article Lo signed both a NDA and a Non-Compete Agreement with TSMC. So yes, TSMC does have the right and power to object to his being hired by their competitor Intel.
>> TSMC chose Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court to fight this matter and mentioned the nation’s Trade Secrets Act as pertinent to the case.
I thought for a few seconds they were going to try and sue an American company in the American legal system, of which their chances of success would be somewhere between 0 and 0.1%.
That's where Neuralink can Help. Call 1-800-BWASH for free brochure. Anyone who runs an engineering firm needs to BWASH their employees just prior to their leaving the company! BWASH process includes removal of all memories since the employee's join date! Operatores are standing by for your free brochure. We offer subscription models starting at six figures per month. Call now!
The premises here seem to be that a high level TMSC executive might actually know things that would be useful to Intel. And that Intel is capable of acting intelligently on any valid information the guy possesses. Am I the only one here that doubts either of those premises are true? My GUESS is that the bartenders and service staffs at the bars nearest TMSC's engineering headquarters might be a far better source of useful information.
Does seem quite a stretch to believe he has detailed technical knowledge of the kind that would somehow get Intel up to TSMC standards.
It's also not a stretch to believe that as a counsel to chaiman / CEO on corporate strategy matters, he might need to know what various R&D teams are up to and thereby understand how their efforts could feed into those strategic choices. Saying "he wasn't a tech guy so had no reason to talk to anyone in R&D" is naive at best, deliberate misdirection and falsehood at worst.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2025
