US sues Taiwanese and Chinese company for theft of Micron secrets

Justice in the US has charged Taiwanese company UMC and China’s Jinhua with conspiracy to steal business secrets from memory manufacturer Micron. Three former Micron employees have also been charged.

The accusation is that semiconductor manufacturer UMC and Chinese chip company Jinhua were involved in the theft of Micron’s trade secrets. UMC wanted to use the secrets together with Jinhua for technology to make dram. According to the indictment, the Chinese government established Jinhua in 2016 to design, develop and manufacture drams. The company is said to be fully funded by the state.

“No country poses as much of a threat to our ideas, innovation and economic security as China. The Chinese government is determined to acquire American technology and is willing to use a variety of ways to achieve it,” said FBI chairman Christopher Wray.

Earlier this week, the US already imposed an export ban on Jinhua, because the company poses “a significant risk of becoming involved in activities that are against US national security.”

Taiwanese authorities filed charges against UMC and three of its employees in August in connection with the case. Two of those three employees previously worked at Micron and have now also been charged by the American justice system.

Micron welcomes the steps taken by the US authorities and emphasizes that it has invested billions of dollars in building its intellectual property. UMC informs DigiTimes that it “regrets” the decision and that it will respond appropriately to the charges.