United States. DuPont presented details of an action they completed last year against Chinese refrigerant counterfeiters that resulted in fines and damages of more than $70,000.
Following a two-year investigation, a court settlement was reached in August, when Quzhouzhou Fuming Co of Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, was forced to pay the equivalent of $39,400 to the Chinese government and pay $32,000 in damages and court costs to DuPont.
In 2009, a DuPont distributor alerted to the potential counterfeiting of DuPont Suva and Freon brands. With the help of a local law firm, DuPont asked local authorities to conduct a raid on the allegedly fake facility. An attack action in late September 2011 resulted in the seizure of 1,500 empty cylinders with Suva refrigerant and Freon packaging, 1,000 counterfeit labels and 1,000 counterfeit Cylinders of DuPont Freon R22.
After the raid, DuPont issued letters, however, the company did not respond to the request and continued to sell the counterfeit refrigerants. DuPont then filed a legal action against those responsible.
The company is now under a permanent court order not to sell DuPont refrigerants or engage in activities that involve counterfeiting of the brand's trademarks in the future. As part of the ruling, the judge also asked the company to publish a formal public apology in two Chinese newspapers.
