AMEC Prevails in the Second Instance of a Trade Secret Misappropriation Lawsuit against Rival Lam

After a 13-year legal dispute, semiconductor equipment giant Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China (AMEC) has prevailed in the second instance of a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit it filed in China against its U.S. rival Lam Research Corp. (Lam).

In its decision of June 30, 2023, the Court ordered Lam to destroy a technical document and two photographs relating to an AMEC plasma etching machine that Lam illegally obtained, according to a statement by AMEC on Tuesday.

The Court also enjoined Lam and two of Lam's individual defendants from disclosing, using or permitting others to use AMEC's proprietary technical trade secrets and ordered Lam to pay damages and legal costs to AMEC.

AMEC filed the first instance suit in the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court in December 2010 and won the first instance in March 2017. The case was then appealed to the Shanghai High Court.

Source:China Intellectual Property