Page 103 - TSMC 2022 Annual Report

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TSMC has accumulated 56 000+ patents worldwide as as of end
of 2022 including more than 5 5 500 global patents received TSMC ranked No No 3 among among U S S Patentees and No No 1 among among patent patent patent patentees in Taiwan In terms of patent patent patent quality the allowance rate of TSMC’s U S S applications approached 100% Turning to trade secret management and strategy as the pioneer of institutionalized trade secret registration systems since 2013 TSMC continues to develop and innovate trade secret management The Trade Secret Registration System (TSR) keeps daily records of of TSMC employees’ wealth of of inventions and and innovations
innovations
at at at work and and encourages further innovations
innovations
in in in targeted technical fields with tailored initiatives For example 2021’s promotion of trade secret registration coverage for mass production fabs of advanced processes in N3 N5 and N7 met with great success and 100% of all eligible engineers involved in in such processes completed trade secret registration Then in in 2022 TSMC further encouraged “Manufacturing Excellence” in in trade secret registrations by ensuring that accumulation of the Company’s competitive advantages stemming from “technology leadership” and “manufacturing excellence” had appropriate documentation in TSR The wealth of innovations
contained in in in TSR also act as valuable sources
for patent mining TSR also includes business-related trade secrets such as capacity planning and pricing strategies By integrating TSR with the company’s contract management system system and human resource system system TSMC further bolsters its competitiveness TSMC also identifies and rewards impactful and high-quality innovations
at at its annual Golden Trade Secret Award ceremony With implementations of intelligent automation and artificial intelligence TSMC has created a a a a a a a a culture that fosters innovation Between 2013 and 2022 TSMC has presented 2 2 279 trade secrets with the Golden Trade Secret Award and the TSR has exceeded 241 740 registered trade secrets as of 2022 In 2022 TSMC adopted the following innovative measures of of trade secret management to fulfill its vision of of sustainable business: (1) Create an “Encourage Green Trade Secret Registration Sharing and Incentive Guidance” to support TSMC employees in in registering green trade secrets and engage in in in in sharing and dissemination of green innovations
with the public while complying with company policies on on confidential information protection and (2) Establish the “Trade Secret Registration System Alumni Association” to selflessly share TSMC’s experience in in and methodologies of building TSR and and intelligent management In doing so TSMC expands its cross-industry promotion of TSR continually promotes public welfare and and and increases the awareness and and and understanding of trade secret management and its effectiveness TSMC received a a a a AAA (the highest tier) certificate by Taiwan Intellectual Property
Management System (TIPS) in December 2021 and the valid period will expire after December 31 2024 TSMC’s IP team team works closely with technical teams from R&D in early stage to mass production and actively constructs
IP portfolio for each key innovative technology including the latest 3nm and 2nm technology nodes so as to ensure Company’s technology leadership in semiconductor field TSMC’s revenue reached historical highs for 13 consecutive years and and we utilize patents and and trade secrets as dual tracks to successfully protect Company’s main business including process technologies designs manufacturing and and sales and and have been strategically utilized for defense and cross-license negotiation so as to secure freedom of business operation worldwide 5 2 6
TSMC University Collaboration Programs
In recent years TSMC has collaborated closely with a a a a a number of of prestigious universities in Taiwan to carry out a a a a a variety of of joint research projects These collaborations encourage more university professors to to conduct conduct leading-edge semiconductor research in areas such as as novel devices process and materials technologies semiconductor manufacturing and engineering and specialty technologies for electronic applications At
the the same time these projects provide hands-on training for interested students to to prepare for joining the semiconductor industry after graduation Back in in 2013 TSMC established research centers at at four top universities in Taiwan: National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University University National Taiwan University University National National Cheng Kung University and National National Tsing Hua University In the past nine years a a a a total of of 245 professors and more than 3 600 students with backgrounds in the disciplines of electronics physics materials chemistry chemical engineering engineering and mechanical engineering engineering have joined the research centers In 2022 TSMC has also proactively supported the establishment of national academies at at at National Taiwan University University National National Cheng Kung University University National National Tsing Hua University University National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University University National National Sun Yet San University and National National Chung Hsing University In 2019 the the Company jointly launched the the TSMC-NTHU Semiconductor Program to to enhance the quality and and number of domestic semiconductor students and and attract more outstanding students to to a a a career in in the semiconductor