Chinese Court Fines Counterfeiters

A court in Shanghai has fined two Chinese companies for manufacturing and selling counterfeit fluorine-based refrigerants under the Honeywell Genetron trade name. The court ordered the firms, Changzhi and Yingpeng, to pay a total of $52,000 in damages and to publicly apologize to Honeywell for the infraction. Honeywell worked with law enforcement officials who raided the two firms and seized canisters containing the counterfeit gases, intended for use in air conditioners. Over the past seven years, Honeywell says, it has worked with Chinese government authorities to conduct 13 raids and seize more than 18,000 counterfeit items.