TSMC Ranked Top 10 U.S. Patent Assignee for 2^nd Year

As the leading global dedicated IC foundry service provider, TSMC continues pioneering advanced technology and enabling innovations by investing considerable resources and effort into technology development. To comprehensively protect R&D achievements and to strengthen the Company's technology leadership, TSMC actively develops its patent holdings and expands its intellectual property portfolio.

In terms of patent quantity, TSMC has accumulated over 30,000 patent grants worldwide as of the end of 2017. TSMC obtained an ever-increasing number of U.S. patents in 2017 and was ranked in the top 10 of U.S. patent assignees for the 2^nd consecutive year. In addition, TSMC was ranked No. 1 in 2017 with respect to the number of patent filings in Taiwan. In terms of patent quality, the allowance rate of TSMC's U.S. patent applications was the highest among top 10 U.S. patent assignees in 2017. These fruitful achievements not only strengthen TSMC's technological leadership, but have also established a solid reputation for its IP in the industry, and protect TSMC's freedom to operate worldwide.

Continuous Elevation of Patent Quality and Quantity

Patents provide important leverage to protect R&D achievements, and TSMC strategically sets patent-filing goals in close alignment with the Company's R&D resource allocations and investment plans to elevate patent quality and quantity. Primary measures to achieve these goals include: patent filing within patent warzones worldwide, in-depth invention mining for comprehensive protection, application monitoring throughout prosecution, patent quality enhancement, regular patent landscape monitoring, and patent strength and stockpile analyses. At the end of 2017, TSMC held more than 30,000 patents worldwide, including more than 16,000 U.S. patent grants and 14,000+ patents in other jurisdictions.

Boosting Patent Ranks

In 2016, TSMC was ranked in the top 10 of U.S. patent assignee ranking by IFI CLAIMS for the first time. In 2017, TSMC held this achievement for the 2^nd consecutive year. At the same time, according to the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), TSMC was ranked 1^st among domestic applicants for both 2016 and 2017 with respect to the number of invention patent filings in Taiwan.

Year	TSMC's Rank Among U.S. Patent Assignees
2017	9th
2016	9th
2015	13th
2014	23rd
2013	35th

TSMC Ranked 1^st in U.S. Patent Allowance Rate

TSMC is devoted to patent quality enhancement and thoroughly monitors U.S. patent prosecution. For instance, through well-established communications, TSMC helps USPTO Patent Examiners gain full understanding of advanced semiconductor process technology. Additionally, in-person interviews are utilized for certain patent applications. These measures not only guarantee full protection of TSMC's inventions and innovations, but also facilitate in increasing its patent allowance rate and expanding TSMC's patent portfolio. According to Juristat, the allowance rate of TSMC's U.S. applications was 98% in 2017 and was ranked 1^st among top 10 U.S. patent assignees. In the course of maintaining intellectual property rights, TSMC's long-term efforts in protecting technology innovations have laid a firm basis for company's future growth.

Ranking	Company	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Ave of '13-'17
1	TSMC	95%	95%	97%	97%	98%	96%
2	Intel	86%	90%	92%	91%	93%	90%
3	LG	90%	87%	90%	90%	94%	90%
4	IBM	90%	84%	88%	91%	94%	89%
5	Google	92%	91%	78%	81%	90%	86%
6	Samsung Display	85%	87%	84%	85%	83%	85%
7	Qualcomm	94%	90%	79%	78%	80%	84%
8	Canon	89%	84%	84%	81%	84%	84%
9	Microsoft	81%	78%	73%	76%	82%	78%
10	Samsung Electronics	76%	74%	73%	71%	80%	75%

Establishing Solid IP Reputation in Industry

TSMC's long-term efforts in protecting intellectual property rights effectively bolster company's technology innovations and have laid a firm basis for creating corporate competitive advantages.