TSMC Is Enhancing Its Patent Firewall by Expanding Cooperation

Taipei, Dec. 28, 2012 (CENS)--Amid fierce patent suits between Apple and Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is enhancing its patent firewall by expanding cooperation with third-party silicon IP providers, including Global Unichip Corp., eMemory Technology Inc. and M31 Technology Corp. 

TSMC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Morris Chang recently said the genuine driver of the company’s growth is the “Grand Alliance” the company has set up with its customers, and upstream and downstream partners, and that the alliance is a successful IP eco-system accommodating suppliers and customers through the company’s Open Innovation Platform (OIP). 

Chang pointed out that total R&D expenditure by his company and alliance members far outstrips that by any IDM (integrated device manufacturer). 

Upbeat about growth potential in the 2013 market for mobile computing devices, the company targets capital expenditure for next year at US$9 billion as its pledge to increase investment in advanced process technologies below 28 nanometer, meanwhile strengthening cooperation with third-party IP providers on application-specialty IC (ASIC) and system-on-chip IP (SoC) licensing as suppliers of mobile computing devices are increasingly designing ASIC and SoC into their products. 

TSMC has chosen eMemory as its partner on silicon IPs for embedded non-volatile memory chips and M31 as partner on IPs for 40nm USB 3.0 physical layer. The TSMC-held Global Unichip provides IPs for bus interface, mixed signal, data converter, multimedia, power management, and SERDES ICs.