March 30, 2020 — Chemours today issued a statement that it had received word of at least one company soliciting business for R-438A, which constitutes trademark infringement of R-438A refrigerant (also known by the brand names Freon™ MO99™ refrigerant).
Chemours' statement reads:
"We wish to take this opportunity to make the following facts clear:
- R-438A (Freon™ MO99™ refrigerant) is covered by a patent owned by Chemours
- Freon™ and MO99™ are registered trademarks of Chemours. No other party is licensed to use either the Freon™ or MO99™ trademarks without (1) purchasing authentic MO99™ refrigerant and (2) using the trademarks in accordance with our standards.
- No other party is licensed to import, blend or otherwise manufacture R-438A. Therefore, all R-438A present in the market should be in packages shown in the photograph below. As additional defense against counterfeit products, inventory dating from the last 5+ years should have the Izon® security label affixed to the top of the cylinder (photograph also below). To verify the authenticity, please visit the URL below for instructions.
"We issued a cease and desist (C&D) letter to a party believed to be violating Chemours’ patents and trademarks. Please be aware, no individual, company or organization is authorized to sell R-438A that is NOT authentic MO99™ refrigerant sold by Chemours. Therefore, wholesalers, manufacturing representatives, and/or contractors who offer to sell, sell, advertise, or use illicit R-438A product are also infringing Chemours’ intellectual property. Chemours reserves the right to use all legal remedies to stop infringement of its intellectual property.In consideration of the above facts, we ask our customers to take the following actions:
1) Please send this letter downstream to all of your customers to create the appropriate market awareness and post this communication within your branches.
2) Please alert Chemours of any sales offers, sales or possession of R-438A that is not known to be authentic Freon™ MO99™ refrigerant. You may alert us by calling your Chemours Account Manager or by using the following URL: https://www.freon.com/en/support/brand-assurance.
Please use the “Contact Us” link to share details about the suspected infringement including emails, advertisements, photographs of packaging, identity of the infringer, etc.
"Chemours is prepared to protect and preserve our brands on behalf of not only our interests but also on behalf of our customers. We appreciate your attention and cooperation in this matter. Please use the above link or contact your account manager with any questions or concerns. We thank you in advance for your commitment towards preserving the value of Freon™ MO99™ refrigerant within the U. S. market."
Sincerely,
Mark M. Kramer
North American Product Manager