One of Wales’ leading technology firms, IQE, has filed legal action in the US against an Israeli chip maker for alleged misappropriation of trade secrets.
In response Tower Semiconductor has strongly denied any wrongdoing, describing IQE’s claims as “baseless”. IQE, which is headquartered in Cardiff and is a world leading supplier of compound semiconductor wafer products and advanced material solutions to the global semiconductor industry, has filed a law suit against Tower at a US Federal Court in California..
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London Stock Market listed IQE claims it has “significant evidence” that Tower misappropriated its trade secrets to unlawfully obtain patents on its technology. The claims relate to IQE’s proprietary porous silicon technology, which underpin devices used in 5G and advanced sensing applications.
Tom Dale, general counsel and company secretary at IQE, said: “We brought about these claims as we have significant reason to believe that Tower has misappropriated IQE’s proprietary trade secrets for its own benefit.
"Our technology, processes and intellectual property are vital in underpinning IQE’s products and solutions and in maintaining our market-leading position in advanced semiconductor materials. We will vigorously protect them and will provide further updates as material developments occur.”
Israeli-owned Tower said in a statement: “Tower strongly rejects IQE’s baseless claims. Tower did not misappropriate any trade secrets and is the rightful owner of all of its patents. Tower is disputing these claims in court to protect its rights and intellectual property. Additionally, although Tower has every right to do so, Tower does not use porous silicon technology for any of its customers or in any of its production flows.”
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