GlobalFoundries and TSMC resolve global patent disputes

GlobalFoundries and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have agreed to dismiss all patent suits between themselves, as well as those that involve any of their customers.

“As both companies continue to invest significantly in semiconductor research and development”, they have also agreed to cross-licence each other’s existing patents and those that will be filed during the next ten years, GlobalFoundries said in its announcement yesterday, October 28.

Additionally, it said the resolution guarantees both GlobalFoundrie and TSMC freedom to operate and ensures that their customers will continue to have access to each party’s array of technology and services.

Sylvia Fang, general counsel for TSMC said the resolution is a “positive development”.

“It keeps our focus on advancing the needs of our customers for technologies that will continue to bring innovation to life, enabling the entire semiconductor industry to thrive and prosper,” she said.

The resolution comes after US-based GlobalFoundries filed a string of lawsuits against TSMC and a number of its high-profile customers in August, as reported by WIPR.

According to the US company, TSMC’s latest technology infringed 16 of GlobalFoundries’ patents covering “advanced semiconductor devices and methods of manufacturing those devices”.

GlobalFoundries had sought a US and German ban on the importation of products which use the allegedly infringing technology. This would include unspecified products from a total of 20 TSMC customers, including Apple, Qualcomm, Motorola, and Google.

But, on October 1, TSMC countersued in the US, Germany, and Singapore with claims that GlobalFoundries had infringed 25 of its patents.

Thomas Caulfield, CEO of GlobalFoundries, said the settlement enables both companies to focus on innovation and to “better serve our clients around the world”.

“This agreement between GlobalFoundries and TSMC secures our ability to grow and is a win for the entire semiconductor industry, which is at the core of today’s global economy,” he said.