Applied Materials Hit With Trade Secrets Infringement Lawsuit By Beijing-Backed Semiconductor Company: Report

U.S.-based Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) has reportedly been hit with a lawsuit by Beijing E-Town Semiconductor over alleged infringement of trade secrets.

Beijing E-Town Semiconductor said in its lawsuit that Applied Materials used the company’s core technology secrets related to plasma sources and water surface treatment, according to a report by Reuters, citing a filing by the Beijing-based semiconductor company with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Applied Materials’ shares traded 0.79% higher at the time of writing. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

In the lawsuit, the Chinese semiconductor company alleged that Applied Materials disclosed technical secrets of Beijing E-Town by filing a patent in China, and claiming its rights, according to the report. This comes more than two years after Applied Materials sued Mattson Technology Inc., a company owned by Beijing E-Town, over a 14-month-long spying attempt to steal semiconductor equipment designs and poach employees, according to a Bloomberg report.

Beijing E-Town acquired Mattson in 2016. Applied Materials accused Mattson of poaching 17 of its most senior engineers, and the latest employee to have left the company in 2023 reportedly coughed up evidence of espionage, the report said. “Many of these documents are highly sensitive, technical, and contain Applied’s trade secrets and know-how which would give Mattson years of competitive advantage in its technology trajectory and development,” the company said in another exchange filing in 2022, according to the report.

AMAT stock is up 17% year-to-date, but down 5% in the past 12 months.

Also See: Scott Bessent Says Interest Rates Should Be 150-175 Basis Points Lower: Report

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