GlobalFoundries Files Lawsuit Against IBM to Protect its Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets

[Daniel Nenni]

Apr. 19, 2023 9:31 AM ETGLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. (GFS)
GlobeNewswire
MALTA, N.Y., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GlobalFoundries (GFS) (GF) today sued IBM for trade secret misappropriation. The complaint asserts the former semiconductor manufacturing company has unlawfully disclosed GF’s confidential IP and trade secrets, after IBM sold its microelectronics business to GF in 2015. The technology at issue was collaboratively developed, over decades, by the companies in Albany, New York and the sole and exclusive right to license and disclose that technology was transferred to GF upon the sale.

In the legal action filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, GF asserts that IBM unlawfully disclosed GF IP and trade secrets to IBM partners including Intel and Japan’s Rapidus, a newly formed advanced logic foundry, and by doing so, IBM is unjustly receiving potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing income and other benefits.

The complaint notes that IBM’s executives have described the Intel and Rapidus partnerships as based on decades of technology derived from research conducted at the Albany NanoTech Complex, technology that they had no right to disclose. It also raises concerns over the extent to which IBM may have unlawfully disclosed GF’s IP and trade secrets beyond these two heavily publicized partnerships.

GF is asking for compensatory and punitive damages as well as an injunction against IBM preventing further unlawful disclosure and use of GF’s trade secrets.
In addition, GF’s complaint asserts that IBM is targeting and recruiting GF’s world-class engineering talent at the company’s manufacturing facility, which is located near the Albany NanoTech Complex. In the complaint, GF asks the court to end the unlawful recruitment efforts, which have accelerated since the IBM/Rapidus announcement in December 2022.

GF has made significant investment in research and development to advance its feature-rich technology and is one of the world’s leading semiconductor foundries with a global footprint and more than 13,000 employees, 2,500 of whom are based at the company’s headquarters in upstate New York. GF will aggressively defend its investments in technology against those who violate them, as the complaint demonstrates IBM has repeatedly done.

About GF
GlobalFoundries (GF) is one of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers. GF is redefining innovation and semiconductor manufacturing by developing and delivering feature-rich process technology solutions that provide leadership performance in pervasive high growth markets. GF offers a unique mix of design, development and fabrication services. With a talented and diverse workforce and an at-scale manufacturing footprint spanning the U.S., Europe and Asia, GF is a trusted technology source to its worldwide customers. For more information, visit www.gf.com

©GlobalFoundries Inc., GF, GlobalFoundries, the GF logos and other GF marks are trademarks of GlobalFoundries Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-looking Information
This news release may contain forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. GF undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release or to reflect actual outcomes, unless require by law.

Media contact
Erica McGill
erica.mcgill@gf.com
518-795-5240

 

[coldsolder215]

Someone needs to put this dog down or at least nationalize it and blacklist the entire management. The only plans GF has for that IP is patent trolling, which shouldn't be surprising given most of their leadership are bitter ex-IBMers. They shook down TSMC, and now that IBM is successfully suing them for blowing up their deal in 2018 and starting to pick up the pieces, all they can think to do is more patent trolling. The bit about poaching is particularly rich because they've poisoned their workplace and sold off the future of the company for short term gains for Mubadala, McKinsey, and like 6 executives. People haven't been flocking back to IBM because of poaching or even wanting to return to IBM, they just don't want to uproot their families and IBM is one of the last shows in town.

 

[M. Y. Zuo]

Could this chain of intrigues have been prevented somehow?

 

[benb]

Could this chain of intrigues have been prevented somehow?

Trade secret misappropriation is a new one for me! There is a circular definition: If you can keep a trade secret, it has value, because you can keep it secret, perpetually. Normal IP expires after 18-20 years. So trade secrets are powerful in concept, however, if you can't keep it, you don't have any protections at all.

Maybe some long-lived employee covenants were breached. The Biden Administration is playing with making covenants unenforceable under monopoly laws (which makes sense, and is about time, because they are actually restraints of trade, and loaded guns pointed at the heads of employees who sign them, as this case illustrates).

 

[Fred Chen]

How will this trade secret giveaway be proven, without giving it away to more people?

For example, maybe IBM gave it away without saying it came from GF, but GF's NDA is probably not specific enough to identify which is the key secret being given away. The key recipe won't be listed but also won't be presented as such, in most circumstances.

 

[ta152h]

IBM is suing them, so this looks like a lame attempt to gain leverage. GF is a disreputable company, and made an agreement with IBM and then broke it, and then had the audacity to say their tech sucked so bad, IBM was better off using Samsung anyway.

So, that's their defense. We made an agreement, but we sucked so badly, we shouldn't have to pay for breaking it. Because they would have been fools to use our lousy company. What????

It's kind of odd they couldn't keep up with the big boys, but IBM meanwhile, despite having essentially no production fabs, still has compelling technology that is arguably best in class for what they need it for. Makes you wonder why GF didn't work more with them, instead of resigning themselves to sucking more. And more. To the point where they feel it released them from their obligations.

And now this lawsuit, after they screw the company that gave them billions to make leading edge chips to them, until they decided they didn't want to, despite contractual obligations.

Just a despicable company.

 

[nghanayem]

It's kind of odd they couldn't keep up with the big boys, but IBM meanwhile, despite having essentially no production fabs, still has compelling technology that is arguably best in class for what they need it for. Makes you wonder why GF didn't work more with them, instead of resigning themselves to sucking more.

It's almost like IBM's "excellent process technology" was not manufactureable and caused the downfall of UMC, AMD, GF's 28/14/SOI, and Samsung at 28LPP. I think you are also forgetting that GF's research team was IBM's team and that 7LPP was healthy and competitive but GF couldn't afford to ramp it when IBM was their only customer.