Applied Materials sued by E-Town over alleged trade secret theft, Bloomberg says

Chinese chip equipment supplier E-Town has filed a lawsuit against Applied Materials (AMAT) in the Beijing IP Court over alleged trade secret theft, claiming the U.S. company illegally obtained and used its core technologies, Bloomberg’s Debby Wu and Olivia Tam report. Applied Materials hired two employees from E-Town’s U.S. subsidiary, who were privy to E-Town’s proprietary plasma technologies, and later filed a patent application crediting them as inventors. E-Town, which is seeking about 100 million yuan in recompense, is demanding that Applied Materials stop using its trade secrets and destroy related materials, alleging violation of China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law.