shanghai  [2004-03-24]

(Shanghai. China, March 24th, 2004) Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) regrets the outside the courtroom smear campaign being waged against it again by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

In December 2003, TSMC filed one lawsuit against SMIC in U.S. federal court for alleged patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation and SMIC is requesting that the court throw out the trade secret claims on technical legal grounds. TSMC’s recent court papers oppose SMIC’s request and do not start a new lawsuit. SMIC will vigorously defend itself in court. It is now preparing a reply to TSMC’s opposition by April 9.

TSMC continues to make public out of court statements whenever it files papers with the court. SMIC is disappointed that TSMC once again has resorted to such unfair and bullying tactics outside of the courtroom.

In its recent court filing, TSMC submitted only personal statements which it calls “new evidence” on its trade secret claims prior to the court deciding whether to dismiss those claims as requested by SMIC. Before SMIC had a chance to review this supposed “new evidence,” TSMC used its premature court filing as the basis of a public statement maligning SMIC.

SMIC repeats that it respects the intellectual property of others and that it was not necessary for it to misappropriate the trade secrets of others. SMIC will actively assert its defenses.

About SMIC
SMIC is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world. As a foundry, SMIC fabricates semiconductors for customers based on their own or third parties’ integrated circuit designs. SMIC was founded in April 2000 and currently offers a wide range of leading edge integrated wafer manufacturing services, including copper interconnects capabilities, to its global customer base. SMIC operates 8-inch wafer fabrication facilities in the Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in Shanghai, China and, as a result of a recent acquisition, an 8-inch wafer fab in Tianjin, China. In addition, SMIC is currently constructing 12-inch wafer fabrication facilities in Beijing, China.

SMIC Contact:
Sarina Huang
Public Relations Department
Tel: 86-21-5080-2000 extension 10356
Fax: 86-21-5080-2868