The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Although Lingnan Semiconductor's position in the global semiconductor industry is not particularly high, it is no longer the kind of nobody that anyone pays attention to.

Especially this time, Lingnan Semiconductor used the lithography machines produced by Nanshan Equipment to build a new factory, which had a greater impact.

With wave after wave of customers coming to visit and communicate, some information about Nanshan Equipment's lithography machines will inevitably be known.

ASML also took action quickly.

Early in the morning, Nanshan Equipment received a fax.

The title is a big "Warning Letter"!
After taking a glance at the contents, the secretary quickly handed the "Warning Letter" to Lin Qiaosheng.

……

To Nanshan Equipment Co., Ltd.:
We are ASML Holding plc, the world’s leading supplier of lithography systems to the semiconductor industry.

We have noticed that the lithography equipment produced and sold by your company is suspected of infringing on multiple patents owned by ASML.

Our investigation found that the lithography machines produced by your company are substantially similar to ASML's patented technology in terms of technical principles, structural design and functions.

These patents include but are not limited to: [Design principles of the light source module of the new generation of lithography machines].

ASML has been committed to the research and development and innovation of lithography technology, and protects our intellectual property rights by applying for patents.

Our patented technology is the result of many years of research and huge capital investment, and plays an important role in promoting the development of the semiconductor industry.

The above-mentioned actions of your company have constituted a serious infringement of ASML's intellectual property rights, which not only harmed our legitimate rights and interests, but also destroyed the fair competition market environment.

Here, we solemnly request your company to immediately stop the infringing activities, including but not limited to stopping the production, sales and use of suspected infringing products, and destroying all related infringing products, molds, drawings and promotional materials.

At the same time, we reserve the right to pursue your company's legal liability through legal channels...

If your company fails to give us a satisfactory response within the above period, we will be forced to take further legal action, and all consequences arising therefrom will be borne by your company.

ASML Holdings Ltd.

……

Looking at the hot "Warning Letter" in front of him, Lin Qiaosheng frowned.

He didn't expect that he would encounter such a thing so soon.

Considering the huge impact that this matter might have, Lin Qiaosheng went to Jiang Hui's office with the "Warning Letter" without much hesitation.

"ASML's response is so quick?"

Jiang Hui glanced at the letter in his hand and was not worried at all.

Not to mention that the lithography machines produced by Nanshan Equipment are not 100% copies of ASML's lithography machines.

It would be difficult for ASML to win a lawsuit involving patent infringement in China.

So far, the lithography machines produced by Nanshan Equipment have not been sold to the outside world.

ASML's technicians had not even seen the finished equipment, and simply issued such a "Warning Letter" based on various speculative information.

I guess the other party most likely wants to scare Nanshan Equipment first.

If it works immediately, it can save a lot of trouble.

After all, this kind of patent infringement lawsuit is usually filed in the court where the defendant resides or where the infringement occurred.

Nanshan Equipment is located in Shenzhen. If you file a lawsuit in the court where the defendant resides, it will be in Shenzhen.

Similarly, the court for infringement is also in Shenzhen.

Because the lithography machines produced by Nanshan Equipment are sold in Shenzhen, and the purchaser, Lingnan Semiconductor, is also in Shenzhen.

In other words, no matter how the lawsuit is fought, it will be fought in Shenzhen.

Fighting on home soil, what is Jiang Hui afraid of?

Nanshan Pizza Hut, is this a name that is just for nothing?
"TSMC, Samsung Electronics and many other semiconductor manufacturers in Japan are aware of our production of lithography machines."

"ASML also knows about it, so it's not surprising."

"Even manufacturers like TSMC will proactively share the information they have with ASML."

After hearing what Lin Qiaosheng said, Jiang Hui thought about it and it seemed to be true.

These competitors have previously taken some actions to force ASML to stop selling lithography machines to Lingnan Semiconductor.

We hope to strangle China’s semiconductor industry in the cradle.

It’s just that in order to expand the market and catch up with the scale of Canon and Nikon, ASML did not reject Lingnan Semiconductor as a customer.

But if Lingnan Semiconductor starts using lithography machines produced by its own group, the situation will naturally be different.

"According to the general practice, ASML first sent a warning letter, and then the two sides negotiated."

"ASML will try to resolve this issue through consultation and negotiation."

"We are required to pay patent licensing fees, stop producing and selling infringing products, and improve our products to avoid infringement."

"If the negotiations fail to reach a satisfactory result, ASML will probably choose to resolve the issue through legal means and file a patent infringement lawsuit in court."

"It is impossible for us to admit infringement, so consultation and negotiation will inevitably lead to no results."

"Then we'll have to go to court."

"You can communicate with the people in the legal department and come up with a response plan in advance."

As the BMW Group has grown to where it is today, it has naturally gone through a lot of lawsuits.

Jiang Hui, who does not major in law, already has some experience in various types of litigation.

So he directly explained to Lin Qiaosheng the problems he would encounter next and asked him to start preparing.

Nanshan Equipment will never and cannot lose a lawsuit.

……

"Schmidt, Nanshan Equipment has ignored our warning letter. I arranged for someone to contact them, but I didn't get any effective feedback."

"It seems that the other party has no intention of admitting their infringement, let alone compensating us for our losses or stopping the infringement."

"I plan to start by interrupting the after-sales maintenance of the equipment I purchased in the past, and then scare them."

"If it doesn't work, just take them to court."

Christopher was very angry about Nanshan Equipment's response.

This is the first time that ASML has encountered other equipment manufacturers infringing on its patents.

Well, although it was just his own guess, he believed that Nanshan Equipment must have infringed ASML's patents in order to be able to produce lithography machines.

"Let's put it one way or the other. If we terminate the after-sales warranty contract for previous equipment, does that constitute a violation of the contract?"

Schmidt considers the issue more comprehensively.

To deal with Nanshan Equipment, that must be done.

However, during this process, ASML must not suffer additional losses.

Otherwise, it would be a case of losing both the wife and the army.

"Although this practice may not be completely in line with the contract, it is a relatively common practice in the industry."

"I can ask the legal department to find some clauses in the contract that are favorable to us and link the infringement of Nanshan Equipment to these clauses."

"Try to avoid any situation where we violate the contract."

Christoph could also understand Schmidt's concerns.

If the dispute with Nanshan Equipment causes other customers to worry about whether their future equipment after-sales maintenance will be guaranteed, it would be a loss.

He must try to avoid this kind of thing. "Okay, I'll leave this matter to you."

“Try to resolve it as quickly as possible.”

"If that doesn't work, you can consider contacting the embassy and trying other ways to push this matter forward."

"Or launch a media offensive to bring public pressure to Nanshan Equipment."

Schmidt quickly gave several directions and asked Christophe to act as soon as possible.

……

"Mr. Zhang, I heard that ASML is going to take Nanshan Equipment to court, saying that Nanshan Equipment has infringed ASML's lithography equipment patents."

"Will this affect our plan to build a new factory?"

As the chief engineer of Lingnan Semiconductor, Chen Qingxiang was a little worried that the equipment for the new factory would not be in place on time.

That will definitely affect the progress of the entire project.

The most important thing is that he feels a little guilty.

He personally confirmed and tried the prototype of the lithography machine produced by Nanshan Equipment.

The various structures and working principles inside are highly similar to ASML's products.

Chen Qingxiang himself does not have the confidence to say that his products have not been copied or borrowed from ASML at all.

Of course, this is from the perspective of a technical person.

From the perspective of legal workers, it is another matter.

Not all parts of the lithography machine are patented.

Just because the parts look similar doesn’t necessarily mean there is a patent infringement.

The most important thing is that in this kind of civil litigation, whoever makes the claim must provide the evidence.

People from ASML have no chance to directly access Nanshan Equipment's lithography machines. How can they prove that Nanshan Equipment has infringed their patents?
Anyone who works in the legal field knows that when it comes to civil litigation, one must find a way to become the "defendant," otherwise it will be very depressing.

I don’t think we need to worry about this.”

"Nanshan Equipment is already taking countermeasures."

"And if we file a lawsuit, it will be in Shenzhen."

"Are you still worried that we won't be able to win the lawsuit in Shencheng?"

As the general manager, although Zhang Shaohua also has a technical background, his way of thinking is somewhat different from that of Chen Qingxiang.

Some things are not simply black or white, but have many possibilities.

"Although we don't have to worry about losing the lawsuit, I am worried that ASML will disgust us from other angles."

"For example, they approached Intel and said we were using equipment that infringed their patents to manufacture chips."

“Will it affect our cooperation with customers?”

"It would even be disgusting if they sue Intel directly."

After Chen Qingxiang said this, Zhang Shaohua's level of attention immediately increased to a higher level.

This possibility is not impossible.

Especially if ASML fails to win the lawsuit in Shenzhen, it will definitely be unwilling to accept this.

By then they might be able to do anything.

Even if there is no result in the end, it will definitely disgust Lingnan Semiconductor.

"I will report this matter to General Manager Jiang and see if he has any suggestions."

"But Intel is willing to cooperate with us. The most important thing is that we can provide low-cost foundry solutions."

"As long as this premise remains, the other party should not give up cooperation easily."

When Zhang Shaohua said this, he was not particularly confident.

Sometimes, the way American companies think about problems is quite different from what I understand.

Who knows what will happen then?
……

"Mr. Jiang, ASML has officially filed a lawsuit with the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, alleging that our lithography machines infringe their patents."

"They demanded that we immediately stop the infringement and compensate them for their losses."

During this period, Lin Qiaosheng would report to Jiang Hui on the progress of the dispute between Nanshan Equipment and ASML every now and then.

This is one of the larger cases that Nanshan Equipment has encountered in recent years.

The main reason is that many parts of this lithography machine did borrow from ASML's design, so Lin Qiaosheng felt a little lacking in confidence.

Even if you know that you will win the case in the end.

"Has the court notified when the trial will begin?"

The Ministry of Justice has already made preparations, so Jiang Hui is not particularly worried.

Even if ASML is unwilling to accept the defeat after losing the case, continuing the lawsuit will only annoy Nanshan Equipment.

At most, it is just that in recent years, it has been difficult for Nanshan Equipment's lithography machines to expand into the international market.

In any case, under the current circumstances, Nanshan Equipment’s lithography machines must first meet the needs of the domestic market.

The 3-micron process lithography machine is relatively backward internationally, and no major manufacturer will use it.

The next step is to wait until the 1.5-micron process lithography machine is produced to further meet domestic requirements.

From now on, they will be new products developed by Nanshan Equipment itself, and there is no need to worry about patent infringement.

After several years of accumulation, Nanshan Equipment's influence in the field of lithography machines is naturally no longer what it used to be.

This is the benefit of preparing for the big market.

Even if there is no way to succeed in the international market, you can still survive by relying on the domestic market.

"Not yet, but it is expected to be in half a month, or even a week at the earliest."

"The Ministry of Justice is already prepared."

Lin Qiaosheng has been following this matter for some time, so he is naturally familiar with the various progress.

"Pay attention to collecting relevant information from the international community to prevent them from doing anything bad."

Lingnan Semiconductor reported their concerns to Jiang Hui.

Although these actions will not ultimately cause much substantial losses to Nanshan Equipment.

But it is still a rather disgusting thing after all.

Therefore, once these situations occur, Nanshan Equipment or Lingnan Semiconductor must adopt certain response plans.

This is to avoid people thinking that you are in the wrong and acquiescing to these problems.

in the country, you can ignore others.

But in the international arena, if you ignore others, then you will completely hand over the propaganda platform to others.

At that time, all kinds of dirty water would be thrown at you.

That's definitely not possible. (End of this chapter)