1934 Act Registration No. 1-14700
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of September 2007
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
(Translation of Registrant's Name Into English)
NO. 8, LI-HSIN RD. 6,
HSINCHU SCIENCE PARK,
TAIWAN
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)
Form 20-F V Form 40-F
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(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934.)
Yes No V
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(If "Yes" is marked, indicated below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82: _______.)
CALIFORNIA COURT ISSUES ORDER ON TSMC MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
AGAINST SMIC
HSINCHU, TAIWAN, R.O.C., SEPTEMBER 14, 2007 --The California State Superior
Court of Alameda County issued an Order on TSMC's pre-trial motion for a
preliminary injunction against SMIC on September 7, and the Order was made
public on September 13, Pacific Time. A summary of the Order follows.
1. The Court found "TSMC has demonstrated a significant likelihood that it
will ultimately prevail on the merits of its claim for breach of paragraphs
15 and 29 of the (2005) Settlement Agreement" with SMIC.
2. The Court also found "TSMC has demonstrated a significant probability of
establishing that SMIC retains and is using TSMC Information in SMIC's
0.13um and smaller technologies that should have been returned under
paragraphs 15 and 29 of the (Settlement) Agreement, and there is
significant threat of serious irreparable harm to TSMC if SMIC were to
disclose or transfer that information before final resolution of the case."
Therefore, the court ordered that, effective immediately, SMIC must provide
advance notice and an opportunity for TSMC to object before disclosing
items enumerated in the Court Order to SMIC's third party partners.
3. The Court issued the Order instead of a full pre-trial injunction not due
to lack of merit in TSMC's case, but because of other considerations. Those
considerations include:
a. The Court was "reluctant to issue a preliminary injunction that will
almost certainly require ongoing discovery and repeated compliance
hearings in the next 12-16 months."
b. Breach of contract damages to TSMC for the period September 2007
through a trial in late 2008 do not constitute "irreparable harm" to
TSMC as "injury from lost sales can be recovered after trial".
c. The Court found there was no demonstration that SMIC is distributing
its assets or in imminent danger of bankruptcy.
d. The Court also found "if an injunction is issued in error, the
intangible injury to the significantly smaller SMIC would be severe in
terms of loss of cash flow, customer relationships, and reputation".
4. Finally, the Court stated that it expects to move promptly to full
discovery and to a trial on the merits, which both parties have anticipated
will take place in 2008.
The full text of the Court's Order is available on the Court's website at
http://apps.alameda.courts.ca.gov/fortecgi/fortecgi.exe?ServiceName=DomainWeb
Service&TemplateName=index.html, using case number RG06286111.
# # #
TSMC SPOKESPERSON:
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Ms. Lora Ho
Vice President and CFO
Tel: 886-3-566-4602
TSMC ACTING SPOKESPERSON:
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Mr. J.H. Tzeng
Deputy Director, PR Department, TSMC
Tel: 886-3-505-5028
Mobile: 0928-882607
Fax: 886-3-567-0121
E-Mail: jhtzeng@tsmc.com
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
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Michael Kramer Richard C.Y. Chung
Principal Specialist, TSMC P.R. Dept Technical Manager, TSMC
Tel: 886-3-505-6216 Tel: 886-3-505-5038
Mobile: 886-926-026-632 Mobile: 886-911-258751
Fax: 886-3-567-0121 Fax: 886-3-567-0121
E-Mail: pdkramer@tsmc.com E-Mail: cychung@tsmc.com
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
Date: September 14, 2007 By /s/ Lora Ho
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Lora Ho
Vice President & Chief Financial Officer