According to news from the Central News Agency and other Taiwanese media, TSMC announced on November 25 that it had filed a lawsuit against its former Senior Vice President Luo Weiren with the Taiwan Intellectual Property and Business Court, accusing him of violating non-compete agreements and "highly likely" leaking confidential information by joining Intel.

In the announcement, TSMC stated that Luo Weiren has been employed at TSMC since July 2004, was promoted to Senior Vice President in February 2014, and officially retired from TSMC on July 27, 2025.

In March 2024, the company reassigned Luo Weiren as a Senior Vice President in the "Corporate Strategy Development Department," which mainly serves as an advisory unit for the Chairman and President. This means that Luo Weiren no longer needed to supervise or manage R&D department affairs. However, after being transferred to the "Corporate Strategy Development Department," Luo Weiren still requested meetings with the R&D department and asked for materials to understand the ongoing and future advanced process technology developments.

Notably, TSMC also mentioned that Luo Weiren signed strict confidentiality agreements and non-compete agreements upon leaving. During a departure interview on July 22, 2025, TSMC's Legal Counsel Fang Shuhua specifically sent a letter to remind him. When asked about his next destination, Luo Weiren claimed he would join an "academic institution" but did not mention joining Intel.

"Given that Luo Weiren is highly likely to use, leak, disclose, deliver, or transfer TSMC's trade secrets and confidential information to Intel, TSMC believes it is necessary to take legal action (including breach of contract compensation)."

Luo Weiren (Photo) Image source: Central News Agency

Since last week, rumors about a retired "veteran" of TSMC taking confidential information to join Intel have sparked widespread attention within the island. It is rumored that Luo Weiren, former Senior Vice President of TSMC's Corporate Strategy Development Department (American citizen), has already joined Intel as a Vice President of R&D by late October. Before retirement, he requested technical briefings from subordinates and photocopied "more than twenty boxes" of confidential materials related to the most advanced process technologies such as 2nm, A16, and A14 to take away.

Previously, Intel CEO Patrick Pichette responded to Bloomberg regarding the rumors, stating, "These are all rumors and speculation without basis. We respect intellectual property." However, TSMC had not provided any explanation or taken legal action, leading to industry speculation that Luo Weiren's move to Intel might have been tacitly approved by TSMC's leadership to help Intel smoothly advance to 18A or 14A.

It is not baseless to question that there may be more to this incident.

On one hand, industry insiders generally find it hard to understand Luo Weiren's motivation for leaking information to Intel. As veteran media person Li Yanqiu said, a 75-year-old TSMC veteran, who has money, power, fame, and status, "why would he take confidential information and join the competitor Intel after retirement?"

Li Yanqiu wrote, "There are only two possible answers: either Luo Weiren is greedy and wants more money, power, and status; or the ruling party of Taiwan and the Trump administration have written a script to force TSMC to cooperate, with Luo Weiren's American nationality and background being a perfect executor."

In recent years, the U.S. government has been pushing to bring chip manufacturing back, pressuring and enticing TSMC to invest in the U.S. After Trump's government took office this year, it has become even more aggressive. On November 17, Trump once again vowed to "regain chip production," saying that the U.S. once foolishly let chip manufacturing move abroad, leading to "Taiwan now producing almost 100% of chips, which is too embarrassing."

Taiwanese senior industry consultant Chen Zi'ang previously analyzed that President Trump has always wanted to help Intel "rebuild." If TSMC were to tacitly approve Luo Weiren's joining Intel, it might form a strategic balance acceptable to both sides.

The news of TSMC filing the lawsuit may, to some extent, respond to public concerns, but the direction of this incident and whether there are other hidden truths behind it remain to be observed.

This article is an exclusive piece by Observers, and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576815442900140596/

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