Beijing E-Town Semiconductor Technology Co. sued Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), a U.S. chip-equipment supplier, in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, accusing the latter of stealing trade secrets.
E-Town alleged that Applied Materials illegally obtained, used, and disclosed core plasma-source wafer treatment technologies.
The Chinese company alleged that Applied Materials hired two former employees from E-Town’s U.S. subsidiary, Mattson, who had access to proprietary plasma technology, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing regulatory filings.
Also Read: Applied Materials, CEA-Leti Deepen Partnership To Accelerate Innovation In Specialty Chips
E-Town is seeking a court order to stop Applied Materials from using the disputed trade secrets, destroy related materials, and pay 100 million Chinese yuan ($13.9 million) in damages.
The litigation also echoes a 2022 case in which Applied Materials sued Mattson for alleged corporate espionage, allegations that Mattson denied.
The lawsuit comes just days after Washington and Beijing extended their trade truce by 90 days, avoiding a new round of tariffs. The agreement maintains a 30% U.S. levy on Chinese imports and a 10% Chinese tariff on U.S. goods.
Applied Materials shares have risen 17% year-to-date, outpacing the Nasdaq 100 Index’s 14% gain, as surging AI investment from major tech firms drives demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Price Action: AMAT stock is trading lower by 0.12% to $189.81 premarket on Wednesday.
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