DENMARK/CHINA: The owner of a Chinese factory producing counterfeit Danfoss refrigeration solenoid valves has been sentenced to six months prison and fined the equivalent of €5,000.
The conviction, which included a one-year suspended sentence, followed a raid by Chinese police in 2015 on Zhuji Chen Liang Refrigeration Co Ltd, in the Zhejiang Province of China. Upon request from Danfoss 8,898 pieces of counterfeited Danfoss solenoid valves were confiscated.
After investigation and evaluation, the Police decided the total value of seizures reached RMB72,082 (€9,600), which is above the threshold of RMB50,000 for violating registered trademarks in China.
“The factory in question was specialised in counterfeit Danfoss products and we regard this case as a big success which supports the focus we put on fighting fakes,” commented Sally Hansen who heads Danfoss’ anti-counterfeit team.
“The counterfeit products hurt our Danfoss brand and reputation and put pressure on price levels, among other things, which is why it is important to constantly be active and visible in the markets as a company which fights back. Also to maintain the trust of our customers,” she added.
In its fight against fakes, Danfoss has this year added a new anti-counterfeit counsel in the Turkey, Middle East and Africa region.
“We have seen the benefit of having a local counsel in China and we are very confident that this step will give us the same positive effect in the TMA region,” said Hansen.
Last year, Danfoss revealed that counterfeit Danfoss compressors in Nigeria were costing the Danish manufacturer as much as US$2m per year. In 2014, up to 7% of Maneurop brand compressors in China were thought to be counterfeit.
