The domestic 28nm lithography machine is about to land, and ASML has tightened the nerves, if China's lithography machine once landed, it will not only lose China's large market, but also may be divided by China a large market.
ASML has previously tried to take a variety of ways to "buy" Chinese companies by reducing prices and expanding production, but in the end it has little effect, which makes ASML look at China's lithography companies as a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh, not long ago ASML is playing a trick behind the scenes, wanting to frame Chinese companies and extort.
On February 9, ASML issued a notice saying it was going to sue a Chinese company called "Oriental Jingyuan" for possible infringement of its own technology patents.
ASML technology was stolen by former employees
In response to the upcoming lawsuit against Chinese companies, ASML responded in an interview with the media that after its investigation, Oriental Jingyuan has a relatively close relationship with a company called XTAL, which has previously been in court with ASML because of patent disputes.
The two founders of XTAL were originally ASML employees, but later left ASML for various reasons, and took away a group of technical backbones of ASML when they left. The business developed by XTAL is mainly based on computational lithography, which highly coincides with some of ASML's businesses, because the two companies are almost equal in some technical aspects.
Later, XTAL adopted a low-price strategy, which not only caused ASML to lose a large number of customers, but also made ASML have to reduce prices to cope with XTAL competition, resulting in declining profits. In addition, ASML also found a very strange thing, that is, whenever ASML achieves some technical breakthroughs, XTAL can always catch up, and its technical core is almost the same as THATML.
This allows ASML to almost conclude that its core secrets have been leaked. After a rigorous investigation, ASML did indeed find that XTAL maintained close contact with its internal employees, and that the two sides should have stolen a lot of ASML's internal patented technology.
ASML decided to take XTAL to court, and the court quickly ruled that TXAL should stop all infringements and compensate ASML for about $850 million. And the court also required XTAL to no longer engage in the same business as ASML to prevent XTAL from committing further infringements. As far as the solution is concerned, this matter has been handled relatively well.
ASML attempts to frame Chinese companies
Not long ago, ASML believed that Oriental Crystal Source had obtained some patented technologies on computational lithography and other aspects of ASML through XTAL on the grounds that the relationship between Oriental Crystal Source and XTAL was too close. ASML asked Dongfang Jingyuan to disclose some of its core technologies to itself to prove its innocence. But Dongfang Jingyuan could not agree to such an approach.
Dongfang Jingyuan believes that although its business scope includes related business in computational lithography, this does not prove that it has the motivation to steal ASML's patented technology. It believes that this is nothing more than ASML's trick to obtain its core secrets, and ASML cannot produce evidence to prove that its patented technology has been infringed, which has infringed the reputation of Oriental Jingyuan.
First of all, ASML said that XTAL leaked its core secrets to Oriental Crystal Source, which would have been nonsense. After the court ruled that XTAL stopped the infringement, XTAL never engaged in the same business as ASML. The technologies in XTAL's hands today are already old technologies from many years ago, and these technologies cannot threaten the patent information security of ASML, so the ASML allegations are simply nonsense.
Second, ASML requires Oriental Jingyuan to disclose its core secrets, which is itself inconsistent with legal norms. Even if ASML has an objection to the technology patent of Oriental Crystal Source, it will completely and directly appeal, allowing the law to make a fair judgment. And now, on the one hand, ASML is clamoring to sue Oriental Jingyuan, on the other hand, it has delayed in taking action, but instead requires Oriental Jingyuan to disclose trade secrets, which is a series of confusing behaviors that really make people feel ridiculous.
Many people think that ASML is likely to be instructed by Lao Mei to forcibly obtain the core technology of Oriental Crystal Source on computational lithography and take the opportunity to suppress China's lithography machine companies. Because asML's weird way of handling it is almost the same as the old beauty, it is difficult not to be suspicious.
summary
Facts speak louder than words, and since ASML is going to frame Chinese companies on trumped-up charges, it should present evidence instead of shouting and delaying action.
China has always been known as a state of etiquette, but it will not be bullied, and if ASML does not give a reasonable explanation this time, then in the end, Dongfang Jingyuan may take up the weapon of law to protect its reputation and dignity.
ASML is afraid of the rapid development of China's lithography machine industry, but behind the scenes of the trick is no way to make themselves always maintain their advantages, only by constantly forging ahead, improving their own technical strength is possible to sit on the first throne. I hope that ASML can understand this truth earlier, many acts of injustice will kill themselves, do not lift a stone to drop their feet, otherwise one day ASML will pay for its own darkness.
ASML rebukes Chinese companies for suspected of "stealing patents", and Chinese enterprises: Please do not open your mouth
ASML sues Chinese companies for infringement? Chinese enterprises: nonsense