ASML claims Chinese companies may infringe copyright, Chinese companies respond: key technologies are completely self-developed[Copy link]
On February 9, local time, Dutch lithography giant ASML announced in its 2021 financial report that Chinese company Dong Fang JingYuan Electron (DFJY) was actively selling products in China that could potentially infringe the company's intellectual property rights. ASML also said that Dong Fang JingYuan Electron was associated with a bankrupt American company XTAL, which was ruled by a US court in 2019 to have infringed ASML's intellectual property rights.Guancha.com then contacted Dongfang Jingyuan, whose staff said it was not convenient to respond to the matter for the time being. ASML China told Guancha.com that the matter was related to XTAL's previous infringement case and was a normal disclosure in the annual report. ASML is closely following Dongfang Jingyuan's developments and is not yet ready to take legal action, but will resort to legal action if there is solid evidence.
ASML R&D personnel Source: ASMLChinese companies claim key technologies are completely self-developedAccording to information disclosed in ASML's financial report, the company learned in early 2021 that a company related to XTAL was actively promoting products in China that may infringe ASML's intellectual property rights. In 2019, XTAL was ordered to pay compensation for stealing ASML's trade secrets in the United States. In response, ASML has informed its customers not to assist the Chinese company called "Oriental Jingyuan" in engaging in such potential infringements. ASML also revealed that the company has informed Chinese regulators of the relevant information, is closely monitoring the situation, and is prepared to take legal action at the appropriate time.
Screenshot of ASML's 2021 financial reportGuancha.com found that the full name of Dongfang Jingyuan is Dongfang Jingyuan Microelectronics Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., which was established in 2014 and headquartered in Beijing Yizhuang Economic and Technological Development Zone, focusing on integrated circuit yield management. Yizhuang Guotou once disclosed that Dongfang Jingyuan is invested and controlled by Dongfang Group, a Fortune 500 company in China, which is a large investment holding private enterprise established in 1978.In terms of specific business, Dongfang Jingyuan's main products are nano-level electron beam defect detection equipment (EBI) and key dimension measurement equipment (CD-SEM), computational lithography products (OPC) and intelligent yield optimization platform for microelectronics design and manufacturing (HPOTM). The company said that its products are all independently developed and at the leading level in China, which can effectively solve many difficulties in the domestic integrated circuit industry.
Screenshot of Dongfang Jingyuan's official websiteASML’s official website shows that in addition to lithography machines, the company’s products also include computational lithography used to improve chip yield and quality. "Without computational lithography, chip manufacturers would not be able to manufacture the latest technology nodes."A senior semiconductor industry insider told Observer.com that during the lithography process, the diffraction of light and the physical and chemical effects in the photosensitive layer will cause the image that the lithography machine is trying to carve to deform, so computational lithography is needed for calibration and optimization. Simply put, computational lithography is similar to the algorithm in EDA. It is a service that wafer fabs need to purchase. If the exposure pattern is different from the actual mask, computational lithography can be used to correct the mask in advance to ensure the desired pattern. Generally speaking, if the wafer fab feels that ASML's computational lithography is not good enough, it can also choose products provided by a third party, and the two will form competition.
Screenshot of ASML's official websiteDutch media unreasonably attacks China, ASML refutesIn addition to accusing Oriental Crystal of possible infringement, ASML also specifically mentioned the relationship between Oriental Crystal and XTAL. The intellectual property dispute between ASML and XTAL occurred several years ago, which at that time triggered unreasonable attacks on China by some foreign media.The story began in 2016. In May of that year, ASML sued the American company XTAL in a US court, accusing XTAL of stealing certain source codes and intellectual property rights of ASML's US subsidiary Brion, and claiming that XTAL induced and instigated ASML employees to work secretly for it before leaving.According to official introduction, Brion is the originator of the concept of computational lithography, and the company was acquired by ASML in 2007. XTAL was founded in 2014 by two employees who had worked at Brion. It is committed to improving the yield rate in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and its business also includes computational lithography. According to foreign media reports at the time, XTAL developed rapidly after its establishment, and ASML began to doubt XTAL after losing a contract with a key customer.
BrionASML's complaint to the court alleges that one year after XTAL was founded, two ASML employees resigned and joined the company. The two employees copied Brion's trade secrets onto storage devices and took them away to promote XTAL's business. They then worked with two former colleagues who were still working at Brion to steal confidential information.It is normal for business disputes to arise between companies, but there are always some foreign media who want to take the opportunity to escalate the matter to the national level.During the trial of this case, the Dutch media "Financieele Dagblad" reported that the six employees involved in the case of XTAL all had Chinese names, and XTAL was a subsidiary of the Chinese company Dongfang Jingyuan. As a result, the media claimed that this infringement case was related to the Chinese government, and ASML's technology might fall into the hands of China, which was a so-called "state espionage."ASML was the first to express its opposition to this claim. In April 2019, the company issued an official statement saying that XTAL and its former employees aimed to enrich themselves with stolen trade secrets and intellectual property, and ASML did not find any evidence that the Chinese government was directly involved in the matter. "We are dissatisfied with any suggestion that this case will affect ASML's business in China. Some of these people happen to be Chinese citizens, but there are also people from other countries involved."
Screenshot of ASML's official websiteLu Kang, then spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, once pointed out that China and the Netherlands have always maintained good cooperation in the field of science and technology. We have repeatedly reiterated that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the protection of intellectual property rights. We have always required Chinese citizens and enterprises overseas to abide by the laws of the host country. As for China itself, China's scientific and technological development is not based on stealing or robbing, but is the result of the Chinese people's hard work and wisdom.ASML CEO Peter Winn said in a statement that the company was encouraged by China's commitment to respecting and protecting the intellectual property rights of non-Chinese companies.The Dutch company did not mention the relationship between XTAL and Dongfang Jingyuan at the time. But the company disclosed that the funding behind XTAL came from China and South Korea, and its goal was to create a competing product to sell to ASML's customers in South Korea. ASML also revealed that XTAL stole software for mask optimization, which is separate from ASML's main business and accounts for less than 1% of the company's annual revenue. "Therefore, the media's claim that ASML's core technology was affected is not true."Seeing that ASML was thwarting its efforts to smear China, some Dutch and American media turned their attention to South Korea, saying that the South Korean client ASML was referring to was Samsung, implying that Samsung was suspected of stealing trade secrets. Samsung subsequently issued a statement denying the accusation, and ASML also expressed support for Samsung, saying that the main responsibility for the intellectual property theft lies with some former employees. ASML also reiterated that it was disappointed with the Dutch media's continued speculation about the so-called conspiracy led by the Chinese government.
Screenshot of ASML's official websiteIn November 2018, a California court preliminarily ruled that XTAL's theft of intellectual property was a malicious act, and ASML was found guilty of all five charges against XTAL, and could obtain punitive damages according to law. The five charges include: stealing trade secrets, inducing former ASML employees to breach contracts, aiding and abetting former employees to breach their fiduciary duties to ASML, and multiple violations of California's Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.But a month later, XTAL filed for bankruptcy and tried to sell its intellectual property, so the court had to delay the judgment. It was not until the bankruptcy court proceedings were completed that the Santa Clara Superior Court made a final ruling in May 2019, ordering XTAL to compensate ASML $845 million. But because XTAL was already bankrupt, ASML could not get the compensation, but only took over most of XTAL's intellectual property rights according to the settlement agreement, and XTAL was prohibited from continuing the same business as Brion for a period of time. ASML stated at the time that the basis for the court's award of compensation was not the actual damages suffered by the company, but the research and development costs saved by XTAL by stealing intellectual property and trade secrets.In the XTAL infringement case, ASML never mentioned Dongfang Jingyuan. But ASML China told Guancha.com on February 10: "It is public information that they have a relationship."According to the financial report disclosed by ASML, the company's revenue in 2021 was 18.6 billion euros (about 133.9 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 33%; net profit was 5.9 billion euros (about 42.5 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 66%; gross profit margin was 53%, an increase of 4 percentage points over the same period last year. In 2021, the company shipped a total of 309 lithography machines, 51 more than in 2020; including 42 extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, 11 more than in 2020.
ASML lithography machine shipment informationAs of press time, Oriental Crystal has not responded to ASML's statement.In August 2021, Dongfang Jingyuan released news on its official website that as a pioneer in yield management in the field of integrated circuits in China, the company successfully won the title of the third batch of national specialized and new "little giant" enterprises. Its three core products fill the gaps in related fields in China and are rapidly advancing in industrialization. It is currently the only product in China that has been verified by the production line and has achieved orders. It is of strategic significance to the security of my country's semiconductor equipment supply chain. The company also mentioned that since its establishment, Dongfang Jingyuan has insisted on leading development with innovation, applying for 145 domestic and foreign invention patents, 49 authorized invention patents, 14 software copyrights, and 15 registered trademarks.
Screenshot of Dongfang Jingyuan's official websiteIn September 2021, Dongfang Jingyuan disclosed that the company had completed a new round of equity financing of hundreds of millions of yuan, led by Sailing Capital and Shenzhen Capital Group, and co-invested by many well-known investment institutions. "This round of financing will help Dongfang Jingyuan accelerate the research and development of core products such as front-end electron beam detection of integrated circuits and computational lithography systems, and accelerate the overall layout in the field of integrated circuit yield management."
What I want to say is, in this matter of life and death, with a knife on the neck, what is the point of talking about intellectual property rights! We must use all means! Any means! Do it openly. When Americans stab, they don't consider any laws and morals, so why can't we? Don't be pedantic! Now use facts to show that this world only respects the law of the jungle!!!
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