Netac Technology Co Ltd () is a flash storage company based in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, China. A leading Chinese

OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

and ODM with its own brand Neta

The company claims to be the world's first inventor of

USB flash drive Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply ( interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A bro ...

, although that claim is disputed by IBM and other manufacturers.

History

Founded on 29 April 1999 by Guoshun Frank Deng and Cheng Xiaohua, the two worked for a year developing their first product, an eight megabyte flash memory drive that Deng christened the U disk.G. Frank Deng: An IPR warrior leading a new industry
Netac Official Site

Products

As of 2021, Netac's product line mainly consists of

solid-state drive A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage. It is a ...

memory module In computing, a memory module or RAM (random-access memory) stick is a printed circuit board on which memory integrated circuits are mounted. Memory modules permit easy installation and replacement in electronic systems, especially computers such ...

, SD cards,

s, external

hard disk drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magne ...

s, and peripherals.

Flash drive

On July 24, 2002, Netac was granted its first patent, for an electronic flash memory external storage method and device.Netac Timeline
Netac Official Website At least 14 companies have since requested invalidation of this patent, as " he patented devicehas been anticipated by the combination of two references, i.e. USB System Architecture and the Handbook of Flash Memory Technology published in 1997 and such combination is obvious to those skilled in the art."Recent Hot Topics/Issues: Increased Awareness of Chinese Entities to Enforce Their IPR
Xiaoguang YANG, Zhongzi Law Office. ''ipo.org' . Undated. ' Although the company claims to have invented the first USB flash drive in 1999 and submitted a Chinese patent application for the device the same year, the patent was granted and the product launched only in 2002. IBM had released an eight megabyte USB flash drive in late 2000,Lenovo 8MB USB Memory Key - Overview
Lenovo Official Site which preceded Netac's offering to market by more than a year and a half.

Patents

Unlike many other Chinese

OEMs An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

, Netac holds a number of patents.Thinking for Themselves
The Economist, Survey: Patents and Technology, Oct 20th 2005 By 2009, Netac had filed for over 300 patents in the US, South Korea, Singapore, and the People's Republic of China. Over 200 of those patent applications had been filed by 2005. Patents held by Netac include: *Chinese Patent No. ZL99117225.6 for an electronic flash memory external storage method and device. *Expired US Patent No. 6,829,672, for an electronic flash memory external storage method and device. *Chinese Patent No. ZL02114797.3 for a USB Wireless Modem * South Korean Patent No. 583626, for a multifunction semiconductor storage device and method for booting-up computer host * Singaporean Patent No. SG119038, for an automatically executing method using semiconductor storage devices

Lawsuits

Intellectual-property infringement is widespread in China, and Netac has taken companies both in and outside of this nation to court in order to protect the monopoly its patents grant. Companies it has sued include US-based

PNY Technologies PNY Technologies, Inc., doing business as PNY, is an American manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, solid state drives, memory upgrade modules, portable battery chargers, computer locks, cables, chargers, adapters, and consumer and ...

,China Goes A-Courtin'
money.cnn.com, March 7, 2006: 12:17 PM EST Beijing's LenovoNetac And Huaqi Settle Suit
JLM Pacific Epoch and Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co Ltd, Shenzen's Fuguanghui and Xingzhidao,Flash memory disk market under fire
Xinhua - English 2006-10-17 13:31 Japan-based

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

, and Taiwan's Acer and Tai Guen Enterprise Co. Its 2006 lawsuit against

was the first time a Chinese company filed patent infringement charges overseas.Netac reaches settlement in US patent case
China Daily/Xinhua 2008-03-27

Shenzhen Coocaa Network Technology Co Ltd

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

with

Skyworth Skyworth (), officially Skyworth Group Co., Ltd., is a Chinese holding company. Its subsidiaries design, manufacture and sell televisions and other audio-visual products. They also invest in properties. Headquartered in Nanshan High-tech Park, ...

, Shenzhen Coocaa Network Technology Co Ltd provides free high-definition movie and video download services.Skyworth and Netac set up Coocaa Network Technology Co., Ltd. jointly
Skyworth Mobile Official Site Netac has developed USB flash drives that, in conjunction with USB port equipped Skyworth televisions, allow video to be played from the drive.

Production bases

Netac office building is located in Nanshan high-tech district which is the technology center of

.
Netac Official Site

References

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External links

Netac Official Site
Electronics companies of China Electronics companies established in 1999 Chinese companies established in 1999 Companies based in Shenzhen Chinese brands