BYK-Chemie Wins Again in Anti-Counterfeiting Campaign: Infringers Sentenced and Fined Totaling RMB 800,000

Recently, the Fengxian District People's Court of Shanghai Municipality delivered a verdict in a criminal case involving trademark counterfeiting. The defendants, Peng Mouqi and Huang Mou, were found guilty of counterfeiting registered trademarks for conspiring to produce and sell chemical additives under the counterfeit BYK brand. They were each sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years, and fined RMB 300,000. Their illegal gains of RMB 500,000 were confiscated.

The case was investigated and concluded by the Fengxian Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, and the Fengxian District People's Procuratorate filed a public prosecution according to law. The court found that from May 2021 to September 2024, the defendants Peng Mouqi (actual operator of Dongguan Hengcai Nanotechnology Co., Ltd. and Huizhou Ike New Material Co., Ltd.) and Huang Mou (legal representative of Huizhou Ike New Material Co., Ltd.) conspired to organize the production of chemical additive products imitating the BYK brand without the authorization of the trademark owners, BYK-Chemie and Evonik.

The two individuals recruited Bao Mouquan, Bao Mouyong (dealt with separately), and others to produce chemical additives. They purchased empty barrels and labels bearing the aforementioned registered trademarks from other sources and packaged them as counterfeit goods bearing the same registered trademarks. The counterfeit products were mainly sold to Fengxian District, Shanghai, and other locations through two 1688 online stores, and also sold to multiple customers through WeChat channels, accumulating an illegal business turnover of more than 3.2 million RMB.

In June 2024, public security authorities simultaneously conducted raids in Dongguan and Huizhou (Guangdong Province) and Yueyang (Hunan Province), seizing a large quantity of counterfeit BYK additives, empty containers, labels, and other items, with a value of approximately 280,000 yuan. During the case's review and prosecution phase, Peng Mouqi and Huang Mou made financial compensation to BYK-Chemie and issued a public apology in the media. Simultaneously, their counterfeiting den, "Huarong County Pingxing Chemical Co., Ltd." located in Yueyang, Hunan, has been shut down.

As a world-leading supplier of specialty chemicals, BYK has been deeply rooted in the Chinese market for over 30 years, consistently prioritizing technological innovation and the creation of customer value as the core strategies for its development in China. At the same time, BYK is unswervingly committed to fostering an honest and orderly business environment to ensure that the commercial interests of its customers are protected. BYK pledges that it will not hesitate to take action upon the discovery of any infringing activities.

In recent years, BYK-Chemie has continuously intensified its efforts in intellectual property protection. In June 2023, Guangzhou Quanteng was ordered by the court to pay damages for selling counterfeit products on the 1688 platform. At the end of 2023, Shanghai Kaizhi was administratively penalized for reselling counterfeit goods knowing they were fake; its upstream suppliers, Shanghai Yitian, Shanghai Canmeng, and their actual controller, have been transferred to the procuratorate for manufacturing and selling counterfeit products. In May 2024, BYK-Chemie reported and promoted the cracking of a cross-provincial counterfeit case spanning Guangdong and Hunan, seizing over 300 barrels of counterfeit additives and more than 9,000 labels, involving over 9 million yuan, and arresting 6 people.

Evonik stated that it adheres to a "zero-tolerance" principle towards infringement and counterfeiting, and will resolutely crack down on any illegal activities of producing and selling counterfeit products in accordance with the law. It also calls on the industry to jointly maintain an honest and orderly market environment. At the same time, the company welcomes all sectors of society to provide relevant infringement clues and jointly ensure the safety of the industrial chain and the quality of end products.