TAIPEI -- Taiwan's second-largest contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp. has agreed to pay a $60 million fine to settle an industrial espionage lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice, bringing to an end a two-year legal dispute that also involved American memory chip giant Micron Technology and a Beijing-backed Chinese chip manufacturer.
The Justice Department said UMC, the world's No. 4 largest contract chipmaker, pleaded guilty to criminal trade secrets theft. In addition to the fine, UMC has also agreed to cooperate with the American government "in the investigation and prosecution of its co-defendant, a Chinese state-owned-enterprise," the department said in a statement.
