Was counterfeiting DuPont refrigerants

According to the news provided by the December 20, 2012 issue of The HVAC&R Industry, ASHRAE’s weekly eNewsletter, DuPont has successfully acted against a Chinese company for counterfeiting DuPont refrigerants. A recent judicial settlement requires Quzhouzhou Fuming Co of Quzhou City to pay the equivalent of USD 39,400 to the Chinese Government and to pay USD 32,000 in damages and court costs to DuPont, the report added.

Tracking the story, the ASHRAE newsletter said that in 2009, a distributor alerted DuPont to potential counterfeiting of DuPont’s Suva and Freon brands. A raid by local authorities in late September 2011 resulted in seizure of 1,500 empty refrigerant cylinders with Suva and Freon packaging, 1,000 counterfeit labels and 1,000 counterfeit DuPont Freon R22 cylinders. After the raid, DuPont reportedly issued cease-and-desist letters, but the company continued to sell the counterfeit refrigerants. DuPont then filed a legal action against the company, the report said.