Netac Technology Co., Ltd.

Introduction

Netac Won China's first IP Lawsuit in the IT Industry

On June 7, the litigation Netac commenced against Beijing Huaqi Information and Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (through Huaqi's "aiguo" brand) for violating Netac patent rights was completed.

Huaqi and its OEM partner Shenzhen Fuguanghui Electronic were ordered to immediately stop violating Netac's patent (number: ZL99117225.6); namely, stopping the manufacture and sales of combination MP3 player USB flash drives. Moreover, the two defendants were ordered to compensate Netac USD61,000, with Fuguanghui Electronic also ordered to pay Netac USD61,000. The third defendant, a trade company, was ordered to immediately stop sales of the offending USB flash drives.

On June 10, Netac held a grand press conference to celebrate this victory.

"This is a major victory along Netac's road to develop and protect its own intellectual property rights. The victory rings the bell of foresight and justice in the protection of intellectual property in the IT industry", announced Deng Guoshun, President of Netac. "It makes the people who are hesitating to develop their independent property rights more determined, and brings music to the ears of those who are committed to technological innovation."

As the world's leading company in the mobile storage and wireless communication field, in 1999 Netac invented the first USB flash drive in the world (registered trademark: OnlyDisk^TM), and was awarded an invention patent (for: "flash electronic external storage method and devices for data processing system"). Since then, the company has been leading the global trends of the mobile storage industry.

In September 2002, Netac sued Huaqi and Fuguanghui for violating Netac's USB flash drive patent, and requested immediate stopping of the violation and USD490,000 compensation. Huaqi defended itself by applying to the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China to nullify the patent, meanwhile pleading that the patent covered widely known technology.

According to the court pronouncement, the patent covers USB flash drives utilizing USB port technology and flash memory technology, not in a simple way of adding and transplanting, but with creative work in flash electronic storage management method, power supply system strategy, connection, physical structure, reliability, etc. The defendant's "known technology" plea therefore does not apply, since the pieces of evidence provided include independent technical documents, not the one independent document required by legal procedures.

Experts in intellectual property say that the ruling of Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in intellectual property cases is known for being just. This sentence exiles the three companies from the USB flash drive market. With little chance of changing this situation, even if the defendants appeal to the Supreme People's Court, this ruling will have a direct impact on the future of China's USB flash drive industry.

According to Lu Pan, the Legal Department Director, Netac has invested more than USD7,300,000 into the research of USB flash drives. Since 1999, Netac has suffered losses worth millions of dollars due to patent violation. If the violators were not punished in the long run, Netac may not have been able to maintain its investment in technological innovation. Thus, the sentence was just in time.

Professor Guo from the People's University says that the sentence marks the beginning of a great time, with it being a milestone in China's intellectual property protection system for the IT industry.

Disclaimer:
This information is provided by Netac Technology Co., Ltd. and is the sole responsibility of Netac Technology Co., Ltd. Alibaba.com is not responsible or liable for the legality or truthfulness.