A Taiwanese court has sentenced a former Tokyo Electron employee to 10 years in prison for stealing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.¡¯s (TSMC) proprietary data, highlighting growing alarm over industrial espionage to the island¡¯s most strategic sector.
Ex-Tokyo Electron engineer Chen Li-ming was given the sentence by Judge Chang Ming-huang at Taiwan¡¯s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court on Monday. Four others indicted in the case were given sentences of as much as six years in prison, with one woman getting a 10-month sentence, suspended for three years. A Tokyo Electron spokesperson had no immediate comment.
Tokyo Electron said in a statement it takes the court¡¯s finding ¡°with utmost seriousness.¡± The company has had discussions with TSMC to come up with ways to better protect trade secrets and confidential information, according to the statement. The case has no impact on the Japanese company¡¯s earnings, it said.
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