Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) filed a lawsuit against its former senior vice president for corporate strategy development, Wei-Jen Lo, who later joined Intel (INTC), Bloomberg reported.
The company alleged that Lo, aged 75, violated the non-compete clause and breached laws, including the Trade Secrets Act, by taking proprietary tech data related to advanced semiconductor processes before leaving the company.
Intel’s (INTC) CEO Lip-Bu Tan dismissed speculation about any wrongdoing in an interview with Bloomberg News, the report said.
Last week, Taiwan’s economy minister said authorities were investigating Lo after local media reported that he played a key role in advancing TSMC’s (TSM) chip manufacturing technologies and allegedly took company data before joining Intel (INTC) in October.
Taiwan Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said earlier that the government was concerned about national security, which includes the protection of advanced chip tech.
TSMC did not immediately respond to Seeking Alpha’s request for comment.
TSMC stock price traded marginally lower, down 0.78% to $282.42 on Tuesday during pre-market hours of trading.