GlobalFoundries has filed a lawsuit against IBM for allegedly disclosing its trade secrets related to jointly developed chip technologies to Intel and Japan's Rapidus consortium, as well as actively poaching GF's engineers. The lawsuit seeks compensation, punitive damages, an injunction to prevent further unapproved disclosures, and an order to cease unlawful recruitment practices.
GlobalFoundries claims that IBM has illicitly revealed its proprietary IP and trade secrets that it acquired after purchasing IBM's microelectronics division in 2015. The complaint alleges that IBM portrayed the Intel and Rapidus collaborations as relying on technology developed over several decades from research conducted at the Albany NanoTech Complex, which GlobalFoundries considers its property following its acquisition of IBM's microelectronics business.
Although it is unclear what exactly IBM disclosed to Intel and Rapidus, GlobalFoundries alleges that IBM is unfairly receiving "potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing income and other benefits" by sharing this IP with its partners. GlobalFoundries also claims that IBM is unlawfully recruiting its engineers from Fab 8 and asks the court to put an end to these practices.
IBM denies the allegations and claims that GlobalFoundries filed the lawsuit to obtain leverage in the legal dispute concerning the sudden change of GF's roadmap in 2018 and IBM's inability to produce its processors at GF using leading-edge process technologies. IBM argues that GlobalFoundries' accusations are entirely baseless and that the court will agree.
