Four Republican members of Congress have urged the U.S. International Trade Commission to block imports of foreign-made chips found to infringe U.S. patents in a case centered on TSMC, according to a recent letter to ITC Chair Amy Karpel obtained by Axios. The investigation concerns chips fabricated on TSMC's 7nm and smaller process nodes, names Apple, Qualcomm, and Broadcom among the respondents, and an initial ruling is due this month. Representative Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) and Senators Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) argued in the letter that strategically important companies shouldn’t receive special treatment.
The ITC began investigation 337-TA-1443 in late March based on a complaint filed that February by Longitude Licensing and Marlin Semiconductor, two Dublin-registered subsidiaries of patent licensing firm IPValue Management, which San Francisco private equity firm Vector Capital has owned since 2014.
The five asserted U.S. patents came from United Microelectronics Corporation, TSMC's Taiwanese foundry rival, in 2021. The complainants seek a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders covering non-x86 semiconductor devices made on TSMC's 7nm and smaller nodes, along with downstream products containing them, a scope that takes in the silicon behind current AI accelerators, smartphones, and PCs. The Federal Register notice lists TSMC, Apple, Broadcom, Qualcomm, Lenovo, Motorola, and OnePlus entities as respondents.
TSMC confirmed in its latest annual report that a companion lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas was stayed in April last year, pending the ITC's outcome, which the company said it can’t determine. An evidentiary hearing took place in February, and the full Commission decision is expected in October, according to Quinn Emanuel LLP, which is representing TSMC and Qualcomm in the investigation.
The Republicans’ letter answers an earlier push from Arizona Democrats, including Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, along with Representative Greg Stanton, who warned the ITC that an order made against TSMC could disrupt semiconductor production, AI development, and defense systems. TSMC has committed roughly $165 billion to its Arizona manufacturing site, and North America was responsible for generating 75% of the company’s revenue last year.
The case is the most serious import-ban threat against TSMC silicon since GlobalFoundries sought to bar U.S. imports of TSMC-made Nvidia and Apple chips over node-related patents in August 2019. TSMC countersued, and both companies dropped all litigation within two months under a 10-year cross-license.
Longitude and Marlin manufacture nothing, so TSMC has no infringement counterclaims to trade, and a license fee is the complainants' ultimate goal. Any exclusion order the Commission issues in October would still face a 60-day presidential review before taking effect.
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