However, in the past two months, the two companies did not get along happily; You know, they are all important players in the global semiconductor foundry field-according to the ranking released by Tuotuo Industry Research Institute in mid-June 20 19, the top three chip foundry companies in the world are TSMC, Samsung and Guangfa respectively, of which TSMC has a market share of 49.2%, the second Samsung has a market share of 18%, and the third Guangfa has a market share of 8. Therefore, the legal dispute between them about patents is a great shock to the semiconductor industry.
On August 26th this year, Guangfa filed a lawsuit against TSMC in the United States and Germany, claiming that TSMC infringed its 16 patents; The lawsuit was initiated by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), federal district courts in Delaware and western Texas, and district courts in Dü sseldorf and Munich, Germany.
Lei Feng Net Note: The above picture shows the accusation of Guangfa 16 against TSMC.
In fact, it is not TSMC itself that imports semiconductor products made by TSMC into the United States and Germany, but TSMC customers. In other words, Guangfa's lawsuit against TSMC in the United States and Germany is actually seeking a broader ban, that is, as long as the products of related companies contain the chips involved in this case, they cannot be imported into the United States and Germany.
If Guangfa's lawsuit is supported by law, many consumer electronics manufacturers and technology companies will be affected. According to Tom's hardware, the list of 20 enterprises involved in this case is as follows:
When Guangfa Bank filed its first lawsuit against TSMC in August, TSMC said that these allegations were groundless and it would defend itself in court. In addition, TSMC spokesperson Stefanie also responded to this lawsuit:
1At the beginning of October, TSMC rejected Guangfa's allegations and instead filed a lawsuit against Guangfa, accusing it of infringing 25 patents related to TSMC's node process.
In short, as important participants in the global semiconductor foundry field, the two companies are inextricably linked, including conflicts of interest. Recently, the two companies shook hands and signed a cross-licensing agreement, which is also a gratifying thing; After all, the result of continuous litigation is likely to be both losses, and it is more important to devote energy to product and technological innovation.