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On August 13, domestic semiconductor equipment leader Yitang Co., Ltd. (688729.SH) announced that it believes Applied Materials has illegally obtained and used the company’s core technology secrets related to plasma sources and wafer surface treatment. The company disclosed these technology secrets in China by applying for a patent and claimed ownership of the patent application rights, violating the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China, constituting an illegal act of infringing on trade secrets. The company has filed a lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, with a claim amount of 99.99 million yuan. The company stated that this lawsuit will not have a significant adverse impact on its operations and will not affect its normal production and business. The actual impact will ultimately depend on the court’s final judgment.
Yitang Co., Ltd. stated in its announcement that using high-concentration, stable, and uniform plasma for wafer surface treatment is one of its key technologies. This technology is widely used in the company’s dry stripping, dry etching, surface treatment, and modification semiconductor processing equipment. The company possesses leading original technology capabilities in this field and holds relevant trade secrets. The defendant, Applied Materials, hired two employees involved in the case who previously worked at the plaintiff’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Mattson Technology, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “MTI”). These two employees are familiar with the core technologies regarding plasma generation and processing methods, as well as the relevant equipment structure and technical processes. During their tenure at MTI, both employees signed confidentiality agreements and bore strict confidentiality obligations regarding technical information, including the trade secrets involved in this case. Evidence shows that after hiring these two employees, Applied Materials submitted a patent application to the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration, with the main inventors being the aforementioned two employees. This patent application disclosed the trade secrets jointly owned by the plaintiff and MTI. The defendant illegally obtained and used the plaintiff’s trade secrets and disclosed these trade secrets in China by applying for a patent, claiming ownership of the patent application rights, violating the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China, and constituting an infringement of trade secrets, causing serious damage to the plaintiff’s intellectual property and economic interests. Investigations revealed that the defendant is suspected of promoting and selling products using the trade secrets involved to customers within China, further infringing on the plaintiff’s trade secret rights.
Public information shows that Yitang Co., Ltd. specializes in the research, development, production, and sales of wafer processing equipment required for integrated circuit manufacturing. The company provides integrated circuit manufacturing equipment and supporting process solutions, including dry stripping equipment, rapid thermal processing equipment, and dry etching equipment, to global integrated circuit manufacturers. It is one of the few platform-based integrated circuit equipment companies in China capable of developing and producing various integrated circuit equipment, and it is currently the only integrated circuit dedicated equipment company in China with internationally leading technologies in both plasma and wafer thermal processing. On July 8 of this year, the company officially listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Science and Technology Innovation Board. As of the time of writing, its market value is approximately 67.623 billion yuan.
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