來源：本文為半導體行業觀察翻譯自彭博社 ，謝謝。

據彭博社報道，美國政府日前起訴了四位曾在Applied Materials工作過的工程師，按照美方的說法，這四人涉嫌從美國半導體設備巨頭偷取晶元設計技術，並將其出售給中國初創公司。

訴訟指出，Liang Chen, Donald Olgado, Wei-Yung Hsu 和 Robert Ewald四人從Applied Materials的內部工程師資料庫下載了包括16000張圖紙在內的敏感數據，藉此吸引投資者去支持一個初創公司，和其前僱主直接競爭。檢控官在周三指出，這些被偷的資料是Applied Materials有關大批量製造平板和智能手機晶元的技術。

如果最終被定罪，他們將會因為非法竊取商業機密而被判處最少十一年監禁。最終結果最快壞在美國時間12月15日公開宣布。

應用材料的發言人表示，他們一貫以來對公司的IP進行高度保護，防止不被授權的查看和盜用，在這個事件中，他們完全支持檢方的決定。藉此事他們想向公眾說明，不合法竊取公司的IP是會受到法律制裁的。他們拒絕對這個訴訟進行進一步的評價。

知識產權

應用材料在集成電路產業中充當一個關鍵角色，作為全球最大的設備供應商，他們提供的設備是晶元製造過程中必不可少的。他們在晶元製造領域的經驗和知識產權都是基於其過去大量生產晶元和總結獲得的，尤其是在傳統硅材料逐漸到達極限的時候，他們的經驗尤其重要。

中國是全球最大的半導體消費國，同時是全球最大的終端市場，但是他們的晶元自給率非常低。於是在過去幾年內，中國政府正在投入巨大的資金去推動本土的集成電路產業建設，為了發展他們嘗試去美國等國家收購相關公司和技術，但遭到了監督者的拒絕。

進口晶元

在全球最TOP的半導體生產商名單中，並沒有中國公司。但在過去幾年，中國興起了一股廠房建設熱潮，其中大部分是由其他海外公司所投資的。根據Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.之前的數據顯示，中國進口晶元總額已經超過了石油。

根據美國知識產權盜竊委員會今年的一個調查報告顯示，美國每年因為偽造產品、盜版軟體和竊取商業機密造成的損失超過6000億美元，他們表示，中國是其中的頭號「知識產權侵犯者」，這對美國的相關產品進入終端市場造成了嚴重的影響。

委員會的報告指出，中國不斷從在中國運營的外國公司獲取相關IP，這當中當然包括了美國公司。

根據訴訟聲明，應用材料的四個前員工竊取的資料是關於在晶元上生成晶體層的複雜製程。也就是俗稱的MOCVD，這些技術是應用材料投入數百萬美金、經曆數年的研發和測試所獲得的。根據訴訟，應用材料「Paragon」項目引領了一款叫做NLighten產品的開發。工程師方面也承認，他們想複製並建造相關產品。

競爭公司

檢察官表示，被告人一起工作的2000到2012年期間，他們有計劃的竊取MOCVD的技術，並建立了一個叫做Envision的公司。在這過程中，他們用私人郵箱去討論詳細計劃，在下載了相關機密文件之後，他們將其上傳到Google Drive。並在應用材料Santa Clara辦公室removing MOVCD的技術。

背後的秘密

在2012年底，這四個工程師試圖招募來自美國和中國的投資者為Envision注資，檢方展出了一份證據，是Olgado和共謀者表示，要把整件事秘密進行。尤其是他們未來投資者在諮詢技術來源的時候。

關於這次案件的更多信息，檢方並未披露。

在奧巴馬任期的最後階段，他的政府提出警告，指出中國政府正在開發的晶元製造技術會威脅到美國本土的晶元製造商。他們認為，中國自主可控的半導體技術將會威脅到美國的軍事安全和經濟安全。

彭博社稱，中國的目標是計劃在十年間內投入1500億美元去打造自主可控的集成電路設計和生產產業。美國為了維持其業界領先地位，需要做一些回應。

「我們認為中國的政策正在扭曲市場，並破壞創新，降低美國半導體產品的市場份額，並嚴重威脅到美國國土安全」，報告表示。只有繼續在前沿技術上投入研發，才能降低中國的威脅。當時報告強調。

附英文原文：

U.S. Chip Engineers Charged in Theft Scheme for Chinese Firm

Four former engineers at Applied Materials Inc. were charged by the U.S. with trying to steal chip designs from the semiconductor equipment giant to sell them to a Chinese startup, which may fuel fears the world』s second-largest economy is resorting to illegal tactics to break its dependence on chip imports.

Liang Chen, Donald Olgado, Wei-Yung Hsu and Robert Ewald are accused of downloading data from Applied』s internal engineering database, including more than 16,000 drawings, and plotting to lure investors to fund a U.S. and China-based startup that would compete with their former employer, prosecutors said Wednesday in a statement. The stolen specs detailed Applied』s processes for high-volume manufacturing of chips used to light and electrify flat-screen TVs and smartphones.

If convicted, the four face as long as 10 years in federal prison for each of 11 counts of possessing stolen trade secrets. They』re scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 15 in San Jose, California.

「Applied Materials vigorously safeguards its intellectual property from theft or unlawful use," a spokesman for the company said in a statement. 「We support the legal action in this criminal case to ensure that anyone who obtained our trade secrets illegally is brought to justice. We cannot comment further on pending legal actions.」

Contact information wasn』t immediately available for attorneys for the four men.

Intellectual Property

Applied plays a pivotal role in the chip industry as the largest supplier of the machinery needed to manufacture the vital electronics components. Much of the expertise and intellectual property value that chip companies have is derived from their mastery of the process technology that goes into producing chips, something that』s becoming increasingly harder as the limits of conventional materials like silicon are reached.

China is the largest consumer of semiconductors as an end market and very little of that demand is met by domestic companies. The government of the world』s most populous country is budgeting billions to build a local industry. Attempts to acquire U.S. chip companies by China-related entities have been blocked by regulators.

Imported Chips

There are no Chinese companies in the list of the world』s top semiconductor makers. While plants are increasingly being located in China, they』re owned by companies from other countries. China』s imports of chips have periodically exceeded the value of its spending on oil, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. research.

Counterfeit goods, pirated software and theft of trade secrets cost the U.S. economy as much as $600 billion a year, according to a 2017 study by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property. It alleges China is the world』s No. 1 「IP infringer」 and the source of almost 90 percent of counterfeit goods entering the U.S. China』s IP practices are a barrier for U.S. companies to invest and access consumer markets.

「China continues to obtain American IP from U.S. companies operating inside China, from entities elsewhere in the world, and of course from the United States directly through conventional as well as cyber means," according to the commission』s report.

The alleged criminal scheme that netted the four former engineers is tied to the complex process of growing crystalline layers on chips called metal organic chemical vapor deposition, technology developed by Applied after 「years of research and testing, and millions of dollars in investment,」 according to the indictment. Applied』s 「Paragon」 project led to the development of a consumer product called NLighten, which the engineers allegedly tried to replicate and build on.

Competing Company

Sometime while they worker together at Applied from July 2000 to December 2012, the four employees conspired to steal the MOCVD technology and use it to create a competing company called Envision, according to prosecutors. Using their personal email accounts to detail plans, they allegedly tasked lower-level employees with helping them download confidential material, then stored it on a Google drive account, while physically removing the MOCVD technology from Applied』s offices in Santa Clara, California.

『Under Wraps』

Late in 2012, they attempted to recruit investors to fund Envision in both the U.S. and China, according to the indictment. Prosecutors cite an email in which Olgado shared with his co-conspirators the need to keep their project 「under wraps,」 especially among prospective investors who』d independently identified the source of their technology.

The charging papers don』t detail the value of the theft or the amount the engineers sought in funding.

In the final days of President Barack Obama』s term, his administration warned that China』s push to develop its domestic semiconductor technology threatened to harm U.S. chipmakers and put America』s national security at risk. A Chinese dominated semiconductor industry threatens both American military and economic security, according to the report.

China』s goal to achieve a leadership position in semiconductor design and manufacturing, in part by spending $150 billion over a 10-year period, requires an effective response to maintain U.S. competitiveness in the industry, according to the report.

「We found that Chinese policies are distorting markets in ways that undermine innovation, subtract from U.S. market share, and put U.S. national security at risk," according to the report. 「』Only by continuing to innovate at the cutting edge will the United States be able to mitigate the threat posed by Chinese industrial policy and strengthen the U.S. economy.」

The case is U.S. v. Chen, 17-cr-00603, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

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