Chinese flash-memory products maker Netac has reached an out-of-court settlement with U.S. rival PNY Technologies, which it was suing for patent violation.

Netac had sought unspecified financial damages and suspension of PNY's flash-memory storage devices in a suit filed in the Eastern District Court, in Texas, in 2006.

It was the first case of a Chinese IT company pursuing patent charges overseas.

"We got all we claimed and were satisfied with the results," Netac president and founder Deng Guoshun told Xinhua, but he declined to elaborate on the deal, citing business confidentiality.

Netac, based in south China city of Shenzhen, claimed Deng invented the world's first mobile flash memory drive using a USB interface in 1999, and obtained a China patent for the technology in 2002. The U.S. patent for the invention was granted to Netac in 2004, Netac said.

"We have contracted with several leading flash-memory product makers in the United States and Japan, but there are still a lot of companies who are violating Netac's patents," said Deng.

"PNY technologies won't be the last company that we sue," he said, adding Netac would continue to litigate to protect its rights.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 27, 2008)