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GlobalFoundries fires off barrage of patent lawsuits at Apple chip supplier TSMC
Chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc. is suing rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. for allegedly infringing 16 of its semiconductor patents.
Santa Clara, California-based GlobalFoundries disclosed today that it has launched no fewer than 25 lawsuits against the company in the U.S. and Germany. The chipmaker is seeking “significant” damages from TSMC as well as an import ban on its processors. If the request is granted, it could have far-reaching consequences for the tech industry.
TSMC is the world’s largest semiconductor foundry and as such a key supplier to many leading technology companies. Its silicon runs inside iPhones, iPads, Nvidia Corp.’s graphics cards, data center switches from Cisco Systems Inc. and countless other products. An import ban would make it impossible for TSMC customers to bring chips made at its foundries in Taiwan into the U.S.
The prospect of such a supply chain disruption may give CloudFoundries a valuable bargaining chip as it pushes for financial compensation for the alleged patent violations. In the lawsuits, the company charges its intellectual property was unlawfully used by TSMC in tens of billions of dollars of chip sales.
The 16 patents in question cover various semiconductor fabrication methods. Some of them pertain to the production of 7-nanometer processors, which represent the cutting edge of chip design and only entered mass production this year. TSMC is one of just two companies worldwide capable of producing seven-nanometer chips in large numbers, the other being Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
GlobalFoundries at one point hoped to become the third manufacturer on that list. However, the company exited the seven-nanometer processor race last year, citing overwhelming development costs.
“For years, while we have been devoting billions of dollars to domestic research and development, TSMC has been unlawfully reaping the benefits of our investments,” Gregg Bartlett, GlobalFoundries’ senior vice president of engineering and technology, said in a statement. “This action is critical to halt Taiwan Semiconductor’s unlawful use of our vital assets and to safeguard the American and European manufacturing base.”
Photo: Unsplash
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