TSMC is demanding injunctions to stop GlobalFoundries’ manufacture and sale of infringing semiconductor products. The company is also seeking substantial monetary damages from GlobalFoundries for its sale of infringing semiconductor products and unlawful use of TSMC’s patented semiconductor technologies.
The 25 patents in the complaints relate to a diverse set of technologies, including FinFET designs, shallow trench isolation techniques, double patterning methods, advanced seal rings and gate structures, and innovative contact etch stop layer designs.
These technologies cover the core features of mature and advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes. The patents at issue comprise just a small portion of TSMC’s portfolio of more than 37,000 granted patents worldwide. TSMC was ranked one of the top 10 companies for U.S. patent grants last year, for the third consecutive year.
TSMC pioneered the dedicated semiconductor foundry model, enabling an entire fabless IC design industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars and plays a critical role in facilitating the global semiconductor supply chain. TSMC collaborates with dozens of U.S.-based equipment suppliers, intellectual property (IP) core providers and electronic design automation (EDA) vendors.
“TSMC’s patents reflect decades and tens of billions of dollars of investments in innovation, resulting in TSMC’s significant contribution to advancements in semiconductor manufacturing technology,” said Sylvia Fang, Vice President and General Counsel for TSMC.
“TSMC’s lawsuits seek to protect our reputation, our significant investments, our nearly 500 customers, and consumers worldwide to ensure everyone benefits from the most advanced semiconductor technologies that enable a wide range of applications such as mobile, 5G, AI, IoT and high performance computing, which are critically important to the public interest.”
