Company patents

NetApp, Inc.

Net App, Inc. demonstrates a strong and sustained focus on core data management technologies, with Input/Output & User Interfaces (41.9% of portfolio) and System Reliability & Diagnostics (37.6% of portfolio) being dominant areas. While Databases & Information Retrieval saw a significant 34.4% YoY growth in 2024, it surprisingly experienced a decline in 2025, and patenting activity across most categories, including this one, shows a sharp decrease so far in 2026, which is partial data.

Patent Trend by Technology Area

Yearly patent publications since 2023

Product themes

Product-level themes inferred from filings since 2023, with category chips showing where each theme appears. Select a theme to filter the patents below.

1,083 US filings (since 2023) · 12 categories · 35 themes

Secure Data Sharing & Rights Management is up +24.6% YoY. Worth a look.
Data Resiliency & Recovery

Encompasses strategies and technologies to ensure the availability, integrity, and recoverability of data and systems, including robust backup, replication, error correction, and efficient data restoration.

System Reliability & Diagnostics
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360since 2023
-12.9%YoY
Distributed Cloud/Edge Processing

Techniques for distributing computational tasks, data storage, and service logic across cloud data centers, edge devices, and user equipment to improve performance, resilience, or resource utilization. This includes architectures for split rendering, decentralized ledgers, and microservices.

Web & Cloud Service Protocols
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272since 2023
+5.5%YoY
Memory System Performance & Reliabilityfiltered

Hardware and control techniques for optimizing memory access latency, ensuring data integrity, and managing storage resources efficiently. This includes error correction, read/write voltage control, and intelligent data placement or in-memory computation.

Computer Hardware Architecture
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266since 2023
-14.3%YoY
Secure Data Sharing & Rights Management

Mechanisms to facilitate the secure exchange of data between different entities or systems while enforcing usage policies, managing digital content rights, and ensuring data consistency during replication or transfer.

Computer Security
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206since 2023
+24.6%YoY
Network Data Management

Systems and methods for collecting, processing, and ensuring the quality and consistency of data used for network monitoring, asset management, and operational decision-making, including conflict detection and reliability scoring.

Network Management & Monitoring
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149since 2023
+10.4%YoY
System Resource & Power Optimization

Methods and systems for efficiently allocating computing resources, balancing workloads, and managing power states to improve performance, reduce energy consumption, or enhance reliability in computing platforms.

Operating Systems & Program Control
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119since 2023
-23.8%YoY
Secure Data Storage & Provenance

Techniques for protecting data at rest or in backup, ensuring its integrity, confidentiality, and verifiable origin, often involving encryption, unique identifiers, or secure repositories.

Computer SecurityNetwork Security & Access Control
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98since 2023
-6.7%YoY
Network Operations, Reliability & Traffic

Techniques and systems designed to monitor network health, diagnose issues, optimize traffic flow, and ensure continuous operation and reduced downtime in complex network environments, including cloud and storage area networks.

Web & Cloud Service ProtocolsNetwork Management & MonitoringRouting, Switching & QoS
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97since 2023
+6.5%YoY
Automated Network Provisioning

Systems and methods for automatically deploying, configuring, and updating network devices and services, including software updates, client onboarding, and topology management across various network types.

Network Management & Monitoring
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88since 2023
+15.0%YoY
Virtualization & Secure Remote Access

Technologies enabling the creation and management of virtual computing environments, including virtual machines and virtual desktops, with an emphasis on secure and efficient remote access, updates, and performance.

Operating Systems & Program Control
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75since 2023
-32.0%YoY
Network Traffic Management & QoS

Techniques and systems for optimizing network traffic flow, distributing loads across multiple paths or resources, and ensuring quality of service based on various criteria like application type, latency, or resource availability. This includes dynamic path selection, congestion control, and resource allocation.

Routing, Switching & QoS
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49since 2023
-11.1%YoY
Cloud-Native & Microservice Management

Technologies for deploying, managing, and governing applications and services in cloud environments, particularly focusing on containerization, microservice architectures, API gateways, and distributed data management.

Operating Systems & Program Control
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39since 2023
+18.2%YoY
Edge and Cloud Network Orchestration

Managing and optimizing network resources and services deployed at the edge of the network or within cloud environments, including distributed domain name resolution, resource exposure analysis, and traffic management specific to distributed architectures.

Routing, Switching & QoS
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27since 2023
+400.0%YoY
Cloud Security Posture Management

Tools and processes for assessing, monitoring, and improving the security configuration and external accessibility of resources deployed within cloud computing environments.

Network Security & Access Control
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23since 2023
+25.0%YoY
Predictive System Health

Techniques for monitoring system components and behaviors to anticipate failures, performance degradation, or anomalies, often leveraging machine learning for pattern recognition and forecasting.

System Reliability & Diagnostics
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18since 2023
-22.2%YoY
Specialized Data Integration

Methods and systems for integrating, transforming, and managing complex or domain-specific data from disparate sources into a unified structure, often for specific applications like social networks, genomics, or business forms.

Databases & Information Retrieval
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18since 2023
-55.6%YoY
Automated Fault Response

Involves systems designed to automatically detect errors or failures and initiate predefined or intelligent corrective actions, recovery procedures, or notifications to minimize downtime and manual intervention.

System Reliability & Diagnostics
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18since 2023
-66.7%YoY
Access Control & Identity Management

Systems and methods for authenticating users, devices, or applications, authorizing their access to resources based on policies, and managing digital identities across various platforms.

Network Security & Access ControlComputer SecurityWeb & Cloud Service Protocols
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16since 2023
+300.0%YoY
Software Quality & Security Validation

Methods and frameworks for systematically verifying the correctness, performance, and security of software systems, including infrastructure as code, virtual workloads, APIs, and identifying potential vulnerabilities or inconsistencies.

Software Development & Compilers
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16since 2023
-66.7%YoY
AI/ML for Cryptographic Security

Applying artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to enhance cryptographic systems, such as generating encryption models, improving zero-trust architectures, or enabling privacy-preserving computations like federated learning.

Computer Security
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15since 2023
+350.0%YoY
Remote Software/Firmware Updates

Systems and methods for securely and reliably delivering, installing, and managing software or firmware updates to distributed or embedded devices, often considering network conditions, resource constraints, or storage repartitioning.

Software Development & Compilers
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12since 2023
0.0%YoY
High-Speed Data Interconnects

Technologies for establishing and managing high-bandwidth, low-latency communication pathways between computing components, peripherals, or systems, focusing on signal integrity, synchronization, and interface standards.

Computer Hardware Architecture
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12since 2023
-75.0%YoY
Network Intrusion Detection

Systems and methods for identifying and blocking unauthorized access, malicious activities, or abnormal behavior within a network by analyzing traffic, system logs, or behavioral patterns.

Network Security & Access Control
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11since 2023
+25.0%YoY
Hardware Network Acceleration

Utilizing specialized hardware components such as network processing units (NPUs) or dedicated acceleration circuits to offload and speed up network packet processing, traffic generation, or time-sensitive network operations.

Network Management & Monitoring
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6since 2023
+100.0%YoY
Intelligent Decision Support

Systems that process data to provide personalized recommendations, predict events, or automate decision-making processes based on learned patterns, user behavior, or environmental factors.

Databases & Information Retrieval
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5since 2023
-66.7%YoY
Geospatial Intelligence

Technologies that process, analyze, and leverage geographic information system (GIS) data, location data, and spatial analytics for applications such as monitoring, navigation, and environmental assessment.

Databases & Information Retrieval
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3since 2023
new
AI/ML Hardware Acceleration

Specialized hardware, architectural designs, and computational methods to improve the speed, efficiency, and security of artificial intelligence and machine learning model execution, particularly for inference and data processing.

Machine Learning & AI
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3since 2023
new
AI Information Synthesis

Systems and methods utilizing artificial intelligence, particularly large language models and neural networks, to extract, summarize, generate, or categorize information from unstructured or semi-structured data sources.

Databases & Information Retrieval
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3since 2023
+100.0%YoY
Workflow Automation & Orchestration

Systems and methods for automating multi-step tasks, business processes, or service interactions, often involving AI agents, programmable interfaces, or formal orchestration languages to streamline operations.

Operating Systems & Program Control
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3since 2023
0.0%YoY
Secure Communication Protocols

Technologies for establishing and maintaining secure communication channels between devices or networks, often employing encryption, secure protocols, or virtual private networks (VPNs).

Network Security & Access Control
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3since 2023
n/a
AR/VR User Interfaces

Techniques for rendering, interacting with, and managing content within augmented or virtual reality environments, including spatial tracking, gaze interaction, and dynamic multi-application display management.

Input/Output & User Interfaces
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2since 2023
new
Data Integration & Content Delivery Platforms

Platforms and methods for aggregating data from diverse sources, generating dynamic content, and delivering it efficiently to users, often involving social media, programmatic advertising, or interactive experiences within cloud environments.

Web & Cloud Service Protocols
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2since 2023
new
Interactive 3D Data Visualization

Methods and systems for displaying complex data in three-dimensional graphical formats, allowing users to manipulate, explore, and derive insights from the data through interactive controls.

Input/Output & User Interfaces
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2since 2023
n/a
IoT Device & Network Management

Methods and systems for monitoring, controlling, and managing Internet of Things (IoT) devices and their communication networks, often involving adaptive or intelligent frameworks for data acquisition, relay, and automation.

Web & Cloud Service Protocols
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2since 2023
n/a
Federated & Distributed ML

Methods for training machine learning models across multiple decentralized devices or servers while keeping data localized, often involving aggregation of model parameters and secure communication.

Machine Learning & AI
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1since 2023
new

Patents

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