Lawsuits filed against TSMC could lead to U.S. import ban against iOS and Android devices
The ITC could block imports of the Apple iPhone, iPad and certain Android devices from entering the U.S.
The patents cited by GlobalFoundries in its suit cover certain technologies used in the production of chips. The suit alleges that TSMC’s 7 nm, 10 nm, 12 nm, 16 nm, and 28 nm process nodes use unlicensed intellectual property belonging to the plaintiff. These chips provide TSMC with more than 50% of its annual revenue which means that the damages demanded by GlobalFoundries could be in the billions of dollars. 13 of the patents allegedly infringed are from the U.S. while the remaining three were registered in Germany. GlobalFoundreies is based in California but is owned by Mubadala Investment Co., an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government. It claims to have spent $15 billion in the states and $6 billion in Europe over the last 10 years.
“While semiconductor manufacturing has continued to shift to Asia, GlobalFoundries (GF) has bucked the trend by investing heavily in the American and European semiconductor industries, spending more than $15 billion dollars in the last decade in the U.S. and more than $6 billion in Europe’s largest semiconductor manufacturing fabrication facility. These lawsuits are aimed at protecting those investments and the US and European-based innovation that powers them. For years, while we have been devoting billions of dollars to domestic research and development, TSMC has been unlawfully reaping the benefits of our investments. This action is critical to halt Taiwan Semiconductor’s unlawful use of our vital assets and to safeguard the American and European manufacturing base.”-Gregg Bartlett, SVP of engineering and technology, GlobalFoundries
The ITC can block the importation of products into the U.S. that infringe on U.S. patents. An import ban could do plenty of damage to companies like Apple and manufacturers of Android devices. Patrick Moorhead, the president of analysis and advisory firm Moor Insights & Strategy, says that the company went after manufacturers like Apple because they need faster chips than GlobalFoundries can produce. Moorhead said, “You can bet GlobalFoundries was trying to collect royalties behind the scenes, failed, and will now let the courts decide. The end [manufacturers] aren’t the main target, but targeted to put pressure on TSMC.”
Over the last few years, GlobalFoundries has focused on cheaper chips that are less advanced but are still profitable. During this year’s first quarter, the company had an 8.4% share of the market for contract chip production compared to 48.1% for TSMC and 19.1% for Samsung.