Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 26, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 26, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleGlobalFoundries has initiated legal action against rival Tower Semiconductor in U.S. courts and via the ITC, accusing it of infringing on 11 patents linked to smartphone and electronic‑device chip manufacturing, and is seeking an import ban on infringing chips.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 26 (Reuters) - GlobalFoundries on Thursday said it has sued Israel-based rival Tower Semiconductor, alleging that Tower Semiconductor infringed on 11 GlobalFoundries patents that relate to manufacturing chips that go into smart phones and other electronic devices.
GlobalFoundries said it has filed two complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas and one with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). The Malta, New York-based semiconductor manufacturer said that the ITC case will seek to block the import into the U.S. of chips made by Tower Semiconductor that were made with technologies covered by the patents in the case.
While large chip manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Intel focus on making the fastest and smallest computing chips, GlobalFoundries and Tower Semiconductor are specialty chipmakers that focus on niches such as radio-frequency chips and silicon photonics. GlobalFoundries last year said it planned to spend $16 billion to expand its facilities in Vermont and New York, with a focus on research and development.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
GlobalFoundries accuses Tower Semiconductor of infringing on 11 patents related to manufacturing chips used in smartphones and electronics.
GlobalFoundries filed two complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas and one at the U.S. International Trade Commission.
GlobalFoundries seeks to block the import into the U.S. of chips made by Tower Semiconductor using the contested patented technologies.
They focus on specialty chips such as radio-frequency chips and silicon photonics rather than the fastest and smallest computing chips.
GlobalFoundries plans to expand its facilities in Vermont and New York to strengthen research and development.
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