TSMC accused of violating 45-year-old chemistry patent

Sues chemist

TSMC has returned fire in the opening salvo of a legal battle centring on claims that the Taiwanese foundry violated an obscure chemistry patent filed more than 45 years ago.

This past Friday, TSMC filed a complaint with the San Jose US District Court asking the judge to rule that two patents administered by Chicago-based holding company Syndia are "invalid, unenforceable and not infringed by TSMC".

The foundry's action follows attempts by Syndia to seeking a licensing deal between the two companies. Negotiations broke down, and Syndia threatened to take TSMC to court, the foundry claims. TSMC got in there first, with Friday's patent dismissal suit.

It alleges Syndia sent letters to its customers "requesting the payment of a 'lump-sum licensing offer'," a move it believes was intended to encourage customers to put pressure on TSMC.

Syndia was jointly formed in 1994 by inventor Jerome Lemelson, businessman Roger Hickey and Northwestern University Professor James Conley to administer patents held by Lemelson and Conley. In question are two patents filed by Lemelson in 1957 and 1964, and granted in 1987 and 1992, respectively. Both detail methods of initiating chemical reactions.

The first patent, 4,702,808, details an apparatus and method for initiating chemical reactions by focusing "radiant energy, such as a laser" onto streams of particles. The second patent, 5,131,941 also details an apparatus and method for initiating chemical reactions, but this time radiation is used to provide the energy kick needed to get the compounds to interact.

Incidentally, if readers who view the above patents are puzzled by their recent dates, it's because both were filed as continuations of previous filings, going back to the dates listed above. Which is why it took so long for the patents to be granted.

Filing the suit in co-operation with TSMC is WaferTech, a US-based chip manufacturer founded in 1996. TSMC owns 99 per cent of WaferTech. ®