Follow Lumenci:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry and the world’s largest dedicated contract chipmaker, with a patent portfolio spanning semiconductor process and fabrication technologies, transistor architectures, lithography and patterning, interconnects and metallization, advanced packaging, memory and embedded devices, image sensors, MEMS, and design enablement. Its filings cover FinFET and gate-all-around transistor structures, EUV lithography and patterning methods, deposition and etch processes, 3D integration and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate packaging, system-on-integrated-chips technologies, and yield and reliability engineering. The portfolio includes patents filed across multiple decades and jurisdictions covering a broad range of semiconductor manufacturing and integration technologies.
TSMC’s patent portfolio comprises 112,113 patents distributed across 40,855 simple families and 37,754 extended families. The portfolio spans 24 jurisdictions and includes patents associated with semiconductor fabrication, transistor and device architectures, lithography, interconnects, advanced packaging, imaging, and related technology fields.
TSMC’s portfolio consists of 86,761 active assets and 25,301 inactive assets. Active holdings include 60,395 granted patents and 26,366 patent applications. Inactive assets comprise expired patents, patents expired due to term or maintenance fee non-payment, withdrawn applications, abandoned applications, and inactive applications.
TSMC’s patents span 24 jurisdictions, with the United States accounting for the largest share of filings and grants.
Total Patents: 112,113
The portfolio includes patent assets across Asia, North America, and Europe, with the largest concentration located in the United States, followed by Taiwan and China. Additional holdings are distributed across major semiconductor jurisdictions including South Korea, Germany, Japan, and Singapore.
TSMC’s patent portfolio is heavily concentrated in semiconductors, reflecting its position as the world’s leading pure-play foundry and its focus on process technology, transistor architectures, lithography, interconnects, and advanced packaging. Secondary domains include computer systems and components, software, networking, industrial applications, imaging, healthcare, and consumer goods.
Top Citing Assignees (Forward Citations)
Top Cited Assignees (Backward Citations)
Top Cited Patents (Forward Citations)
Top Citing Patents (Backward Citations)
The citation data includes references involving major semiconductor manufacturers, foundries, and equipment suppliers. The largest citation volumes are associated with TSMC, Samsung, GlobalFoundries, IBM, Intel, Renesas, Toshiba, Texas Instruments, Micron, and United Microelectronics.
TSMC’s litigation dataset includes 140 patents that have been involved in litigation matters, 132 petitions, 10 reexaminations, and 652 Chinese Patent Reexamination Board proceedings. The dataset also includes 12 active cases, 57 inactive cases, 20 appeals, and 24 related parties.
Ownership Type
Sources of Acquired Patents
TSMC’s patent portfolio consists of 106,543 originally assigned patents and 5,570 acquired patents. Acquired patents originate from operating companies, non-practicing entities (NPEs), universities, and other sources.
Notable Acquisitions and M&A
TSMC has grown primarily through organic capacity expansion and majority-owned manufacturing subsidiaries rather than large-scale corporate acquisitions. Its principal transactions and structural investments include the following.
2026 – TSMC Arizona (~US$165 billion committed)
TSMC selected Phoenix, Arizona in 2020 for its first advanced US manufacturing site, and has since expanded the commitment from US$12 billion to approximately US$165 billion, the largest greenfield foreign direct investment in US history. Plans include six wafer fabs, two advanced packaging facilities, and an R&D center. The first fab began high-volume production on N4 in the fourth quarter of 2024, the second fab targets N3 production in the second half of 2027, and the third fab, broken ground in April 2025, is slated for N2 and A16 process technologies.
2024 – Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), ~US$8.6 billion
TSMC established JASM, its majority-owned manufacturing subsidiary in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, with minority equity participation from Sony Semiconductor Solutions and DENSO, which invested approximately US$0.35 billion for a stake above 10%. The Kumamoto fab represents total capital expenditure of roughly US$8.6 billion with Japanese government support and began production at the end of 2024.
2024 – European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC), >€10 billion
TSMC formed ESMC GmbH in Dresden, Germany as a joint venture holding a 70% stake, with Robert Bosch, Infineon Technologies, and NXP Semiconductors each holding 10%. The 300mm fab represents total investment exceeding €10 billion, including approximately €5 billion in approved German state support, broke ground in August 2024, and targets production by the end of 2027 on 28/22nm planar and 16/12nm FinFET process technologies.
Earlier structural investments
TSMC’s earlier overseas manufacturing footprint includes WaferTech in Camas, Washington, established in 1996 and brought under full TSMC control in 2000 as Fab 11, and Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Company (SSMC), the Singapore joint venture founded with Philips in 1999 that began production in December 2000.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited is a publicly traded semiconductor foundry listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (2330) and, via American Depositary Receipts, on the New York Stock Exchange (TSM). It is the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry and the principal manufacturer of leading-edge logic chips for the AI, high-performance computing, and mobile markets.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
No. 8, Li-Hsin Road 6, Hsinchu Science Park
Hsinchu 300-096, Taiwan, R.O.C.
TSMC’s corporate headquarters are located in the Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu, Taiwan, alongside Fab 12A. Regional operations are headquartered in Phoenix (North America), Dresden and Munich (Europe), and Kumamoto (Japan).
TSMC’s patent portfolio includes 112,113 patents across 24 jurisdictions. The portfolio contains patent assets in semiconductor process and fabrication technologies, transistor architectures, lithography and patterning, interconnects, advanced packaging, imaging, and related computing and design-enablement technologies.
The portfolio includes 40,855 simple families, 37,754 extended families, 43 litigated patents, and 0 challenged patents.
TSMC’s patent portfolio contains 112,113 patents across 24 jurisdictions. The portfolio includes 40,855 simple families and 37,754 extended families.
Semiconductors account for roughly 63% of the portfolio, covering process technology, transistor architectures, lithography, interconnects, and advanced packaging, followed by computer systems and components, software, networking, and industrial applications.
TSMC’s portfolio includes 86,761 active patent assets, consisting of 60,395 active grants and 26,366 active applications.
The United States contains the largest number of TSMC patent assets, followed by Taiwan, China, South Korea, Germany, and Japan.
The litigation dataset includes 140 patents in litigation, 132 petitions, 10 reexaminations, and 652 Chinese PRB proceedings.
The portfolio contains 106,543 originally assigned patents and 5,570 acquired patents.
The citation data includes significant references involving Samsung, GlobalFoundries, IBM, Intel, Renesas, Toshiba, Texas Instruments, Micron, and United Microelectronics.
TSMC has committed approximately US$165 billion to its Arizona site, established the majority-owned JASM subsidiary in Kumamoto, Japan with Sony and DENSO, and formed the 70%-owned ESMC joint venture in Dresden, Germany with Bosch, Infineon, and NXP.
Reach out and we’ll get you what you need.
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies. We use cookies to provide you with a great experience and to help our website run effectively.
Close
