DuPont fights Nomex® protective apparel counterfeiters targeting oil & gas industry

DuPont Protection Technologies (DuPont) announced the signing of settlement agreements in two counterfeit cases involving fake DuPont™ Nomex® protective apparel supplied to the Oil & Gas industry in Southeast Asia and Central Europe. The infringement of the DuPont trademark and mislabeling of protective apparel jeopardized the safety of industrial workers in the regions.

“The successful settlement of these cases should serve as warning to those companies who abuse the law and misrepresent products they market,” said Marc Doyle, president DuPont Protection Technologies. “We will aggressively pursue cases of trademark infringement to ensure that no one is harmed by counterfeit protective apparel that does not meet important standards for safety.”

Safety Depot (PT DTS Nusantara) – Safety Depot of Indonesia admitted to having sold counterfeit products through their Safety Depot outlets serving the Oil & Gas industry that infringed on DuPont trademarks, including DuPont™ Nomex® protective apparel. Under the settlement signed on June 1, 2015, Safety Depot was forced to cease all use of the DuPont brands, remove all labeling from existing inventory, and issue a public apology, which has been completed.

DeLUX (SM, S.R.O.) and ASTONA (SM and Lubomír Mlček) – In this case, brought against a manufacturer of protective apparel in Slovakia, garments sold to the Oil & Gas industry marked with a “NOME” label and claiming to be composed of 93 percent Nomex® fiber were tested and discovered to contain no Nomex®. The settlement, signed on March 20, 2015, included an order for DeLUX and ASTONA to cease and refrain from using their NOME mark due to the confusing similarity to the DuPont™ Nomex® brand. In addition, the companies committed to cease all infringing use of the DuPont™ Nomex® brand, and remove and destroy all misleading labels.

Financial terms of the settlements were not disclosed. To ensure a product is authentic DuPont™ Nomex® brand fiber, purchasers are encouraged to verify that the supplier is a DuPont authorized customer or licensee.

DuPont™ Nomex® fiber has offered thermal protection around the world for decades. Workers across the manufacturing, chemical, and oil & gas industries, as well as emergency response and armed forces personnel, depend on its thermal protection to help keep them safe. Nomex^® fiber can enable protective apparel to have the lowest possible weight at the highest level of protection, breathability for reduced heat stress, and the ability to effectively wick away moisture. In addition to personal protection, Nomex® is used in mass transit systems, wind energy, transformers, filtration, hoses and aircraft.