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 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.
Credit: Digitimes
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 response to TSMC's lawsuit against former senior vice president Wei-Jen Lo, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said it respects TSMC's decision to take legal action to protect its interests and will closely monitor any impact on the industry. Prosecutors and investigators have already opened an inquiry into the case, and the MOEA will cooperate with authorities to determine whether the matter involves breaches of national core technologies or violations of national security laws.
The MOEA also noted that the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) currently has no mechanism for revoking an academicianship. The ministry has asked ITRI to study the issue, and discussions are still underway.
Credit: Digitimes
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.
Credit: Digitimes
Article edited by Jack Wu
