Former Tokyo Electron worker jailed 10 years for TSMC theft
A former Tokyo Electron worker just got 10 years in prison for stealing trade secrets from TSMC, Taiwan's top chipmaker.
The court also fined Tokyo Electron about $4.8 million and gave four others jail time, sending a clear message: Taiwan is serious about protecting its crucial semiconductor industry, especially with AI on the rise.
Tokyo Electron, TSMC vow trade-secret protection
Chen Li-ming, who used to work at TSMC before joining Tokyo Electron, took confidential information to help with bidding against his old employer.
The judge pointed out that this put Taiwan's tech security at risk, all to improve his personal work performance.
After the verdict, Tokyo Electron said it will tighten up its information security. Meanwhile, TSMC maintained a zero-tolerance policy toward any actions that compromise the protection of trade secrets or harm the company's interests and said such violations are dealt with strictly and pursued to the full extent of the law.