TSMC formally sues ex-SVP over alleged transfer of secrets to Intel

Daniel Nenni · 2025-11-25T02:42:25-0800

On November 25th, 2025, TSMC filed a lawsuit in the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court against Wei-Jen Lo, the company’s former Senior Vice President. The lawsuit is based on the terms of Employment Contract between TSMC and Lo, the Non-compete Agreement signed by Lo during his employment, and regulations such as the Trade Secrets Act. Wei-Jen Lo joined TSMC as Vice President in July 2004 and was promoted to Senior Vice President in February 2014.

He officially retired from TSMC on July 27th, 2025.In March 2024, Lo was transferred to TSMC’s Corporate Strategy Development, a staff unit providing consultation to the Chairman and CEO and has not been responsible for supervising or managing the affairs of the Research & Development function since. However, after assuming this position, Lo allegedly continued to convene meetings with staff of the Research & Development departments(Note: This refers to employees whose job grades are below Senior Vice President, and who do not have a supervisory or subordinate relationship with Lo.) to provide information for him to understand the advanced technologies currently, and planned to be, under development by TSMC.

During his employment, Lo had signed a Non-disclosure Agreement and Non-compete Agreement. When the General Counsel of TSMC, Sylvia Fang, conducted exit interview with Lo on July 22nd,2025, she provided a reminder notice for Lo to read thoroughly. During the exit interview, the General Counsel also explained the non-compete obligation after separation and inquired about his plans after retirement, Lo replied that he would join an academic institution, and did not mention his plan to join Intel. However, Lo joined Intel as Executive Vice President (EVP) soon after his retirement from TSMC. There is a high probability that Lo uses, leaks, discloses, delivers, or transfers TSMC’s trade secrets and confidential information to Intel, thus making legal actions (including claiming damages for breach of contract) necessary

Maximus · 2025-11-25T02:42:32-0800

TSMC formally sues ex-SVP over alleged transfer of secrets to Intel
Joseph Chen, DIGITIMES Asia, Taipei
Tuesday 25 November 2025

TSMC said on November 25, 2025, that it has filed a lawsuit against its former senior vice president, Wei-Jen Lo, in Taiwan's Intellectual Property and Commercial Court, accusing him of violating his employment contract, a non-compete agreement, and obligations under the Trade Secrets Act.

Lo joined TSMC(2330.TW) as a vice president in 2004, rose to senior vice president in 2014, and officially retired on July 27, 2025.

The company said Lo joined Intel as an executive vice president almost immediately after retirement, triggering concerns that he may be using, disclosing, or transferring TSMC trade secrets and confidential information to a direct competitor. TSMC said this left it no choice but to seek damages and pursue legal remedies.

According to TSMC, its general counsel Sylvia Fang conducted Lo's exit interview on July 22, 2025, during which his non-compete obligations were reiterated and a reminder notice was issued. Lo reportedly told the company he planned to join an academic institution and made no mention of Intel. He had previously signed both non-disclosure and non-compete agreements.

TSMC also alleged that Lo's conduct before retirement raised red flags. After he was reassigned in March 2024 to Corporate Strategy Development—a staff unit advising the chairman and CEO and not responsible for overseeing R&D—Lo purportedly continued to seek access to advanced-technology information.

The company said he held meetings with R&D employees below the senior-vice-president grade and outside his reporting line, requesting details on technologies under development or planned for future nodes.

TSMC said these actions, taken together, constitute a serious breach of contractual and legal obligations and pose a significant risk to its core intellectual property.

In recent days, Lo has been at the center of a widening controversy in Taiwan following allegations that he copied advanced-process data before leaving TSMC and joining Intel. Taiwanese authorities have opened an investigation into whether his actions violated national security laws.

Lo retired from TSMC in July 2025 and reportedly joined Intel at the end of October. Local media have said the data in question involved TSMC's A16 and A14 process nodes, prompting the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the High Prosecutors' Office to examine the case. Economics minister Ming-Hsin Kung has confirmed that prosecutors are gathering information. Lo, who spent decades at TSMC and played a major role in its high-yield 2nm technology, has not commented publicly.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan sought to tamp down the speculation during the Semiconductor Industry Association Awards event, telling Bloomberg that the reports were "rumor and speculation" and stressing that Intel respects intellectual-property rights. He offered no details on Intel's internal review or hiring processes but rejected the idea that Lo had brought confidential TSMC information to the company. His remarks came as TSMC continued its own internal fact-finding and Taiwanese prosecutors began collecting preliminary evidence.

Article edited by Jack Wu