The American semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries has filed several lawsuits in the country against the Israeli Tower Semiconductoralleging that said company has infringed several GlobalFoundries patents by taking improper advantage of its innovations to illegally take away market share.
The lawsuits, filed with the United States International Trade Commission and the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, allege that Tower illegally uses GlobalFoundries’ patented manufacturing process technologies, and that it explores the company’s R&D investments without a license instead of undertaking the research necessary to independently develop these capabilities, which they describe as a lengthy and costly process.
The lawsuits specifically allege infringement of eleven GlobalFoundries U.S. patents that protect core high-performance technologies for automotive, aerospace, communications, and smart mobile device infrastructure.
In its text, the company requests that precautionary measures be adopted to block the import and sale of Tower Semiconductor products whose manufacture has infringed the patents indicated in the lawsuits. They also ask that GlobalFoundries be compensated for any lost profits.
The company points out that while GlobalFoundries has added more than 8,000 patents to its portfolio through sustained innovation, process experience and decades of its own technical knowledge; Tower has less than 500 patents. Furthermore, they reiterate that they will enforce their intellectual property rights in support of the sector.
Gregg Bartlett, Chief Technology Officer, GlobalFoundrieshas highlighted that «Semiconductor manufacturing is one of the most complex and capital-intensive industries in the world. There are no shortcuts to real innovation. Companies that attempt to extract value from proprietary process technologies without authorization or investment undermine fair competition and the integrity of the semiconductor ecosystem. Our actions are necessary to defend our intellectual property, protect the innovation that underpins it, and ensure that competitors play by the same rules.«.
