UMC - United Microelectronics Corporation

12/30/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/30/2021 02:21

UMC awarded Taiwan Intellectual Property Management System (TIPS) certification

Hsinchu, Taiwan, December 30, 2021- United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC") today announced it has been awarded Taiwan Intellectual Property Management System (TIPS) certification, highlighting the company's continuous commitment to strengthening its IP management system and corporate governance.

Lucas Chang, UMC's Senior Vice President and General Counsel, says: "Technology development is a key pillar for UMC; therefore, it is very important that IP rights for our in-house technologies are well-arranged and protected. At the same time, we must also ensure the same level of protection for our partners. With trade secret protection becoming increasingly critical for businesses today, in addition to reinforcing internal awareness and compliance of laws, and building a complete IP management system, we implemented TIPS this year to further refine the company's trade secret management mechanisms and to strengthen our information security infrastructure. TIPS is the official benchmark for Taiwan enterprises and obtaining this certification is evidence that we have a robust system in place that is recognized by state-level authorities."

TIPS is a set of IP management standards promoted by Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission, the Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Institute for Information Industry entrusted by the Industrial Development Bureau. UMC has focused on providing high-quality foundry services and has actively invested in the development and manufacturing of logic and specialty technologies. UMC's R&D spending averaged roughly 8% of annual revenue over the last five years and the company now holds over 14,000 semiconductor IP patents worldwide. As a leader in the semiconductor industry, the company continues to optimize its IP/trade secret management to minimize technology/trade secret leakages, IP disputes and other related risks, consistent with the Financial Supervisory Commission's "Corporate Governance 3.0" program, designed to promote sustainable corporate development.

Comprehensive risk management and effective crisis management are cornerstones of corporate sustainability. Through TIPS, the company established clear policies and goals for IP management and re-examined existing frameworks for the management of trade secrets, i.e., acquiring trade secrets, protecting and maintaining those trade secrets, and ensuring security and confidentiality. Measures implemented include enhanced awareness training for all staff, dedicated personnel to handle trade secret consultation and disputes, and regular review meetings to assess the effectiveness of the system.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry company. The company provides high quality IC fabrication services, focusing on logic and various specialty technologies to serve all major sectors of the electronics industry. UMC's comprehensive IC processing technologies and manufacturing solutions include Logic/Mixed-Signal, embedded High-Voltage, embedded Non-Volatile-Memory, RFSOI and BCD etc. Most of UMC's 12-in & 8-in fabs with its core R&D are located in Taiwan, with additional ones throughout Asia. UMC has total 12 fabs in production with combined capacity close to 800,000 wafers per month (8-in equivalent), and all of them are certified with IATF-16949 automotive quality standard. UMC is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, plus local offices in United States, Europe, China, Japan, Korea & Singapore, with worldwide total 19,500 employees. For more information, please visit: https://www.umc.com.

Note from UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward-looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements about introduction of new services and technologies, future outsourcing, competition, wafer capacity, business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; and technological and development risks. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in UMC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. UMC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

UMC Corporate Communications

Michelle Yun

+886-2-2658-9168 ext. 16951

[email protected]