THE US air conditioning and refrigeration industry has signed a new agreement with the Chinese in an effort to protect intellectual property rights.
The 'memorandum of understanding' was signed at last month's AHR Expo in Dallas between representatives from ARI, ASHRAE and the AHR organisers with their counterparts at the China Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry Association, the Chinese Association of Refrigeration, and the Beijing International Exhibition.

Under the agreement, all six organisations agreed that zero tolerance policies for counterfeit products should be enforced and procedures should be established that assist trade show exhibitors who encounter IPR violations. The six parties also agreed to increase communication and collaboration to facilitate the development of education and training programs that build awareness of the protection of intellectual property among all industry segments.

Last month, US refrigerant manufacturer Honeywell, won the first of its cases against Chinese chemical companies selling unlicensed R410A. The case in the German courts followed injunctions served on a number of Chinese refrigerant suppliers at the IKK exhibition in Germany last October.