Tokyo Electron admits Taiwan unit employee's role in IP case

Tokyo Electron admits Taiwan unit employee's role in IP case

Announces his dismissal, even though the firm has not yet ascertained he shared confidential information with third parties

Tokyo Electron Ltd, a Japanese chip-making machinery maker, has stated that a former employee of its subsidiary Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) was involved in a case cited by the Intellectual Property Branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office.

Taiwanese authorities have detained three persons for allegedly stealing technology trade secrets from TSMC, the world's largest chip foundry.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Electron announced the dismissal of the accused employee, even as it maintained that the company’s internal investigation found no evidence of confidential information being shared with third parties. It added that the firm was cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

It was reported that the breach involved suspected attempts to obtain critical proprietary information on TSMC's 2-nanometer chip technology.