It takes about three years to get a patent (in both the US and Europe, the two largest semiconductor markets) and a valid patent (one that is genuinely original

It takes about three years to get a patent (in both the US and Europe, the two largest semiconductor markets) and a valid patent (one that is genuinely original and not obvious) is obsolete in cutting edge semiconductors within three years, so patents play almost no role in semiconductors except to delay new entrants, obstruct compatibility with installed base software, and troll fabs with invalid scam patents. Trade secrets are essential or else nobody would innovate -- they'd just steal each others' designs until nobody could afford to invent anything. Fortunately a short non-compete (during which engineers should be paid compensation for taking time off between employers) is enough to exhaust a lot of cutting edge insider knowledge. The accusation here is that an engineer cheated his non-compete.