Arkema and Honeywell dismiss one of the claims in their suit

In June 2010, Arkema, Inc. and Arkema France filed suit against Honeywell International, Inc. in the United States District Court, asking the federal court to declare Honeywell’s patents on refrigerant HFO-1234yf invalid, as similar work was disclosed and patented earlier in Japan and Russia in patents 7 534 366 (2009) and 7 279 451 (2007), reffered to respectively as the “366” and “451” patents. Honeywell countersued, to prevent Arkema from producing the chemical, then in a more recent agreement, accepted by both companies and the court, the parties agreed to step back from the 451 patent dispute as the patent was being reviewed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. However, the parts of the case relating to patent “361” still continue and a trial date is set for June 2012.

Some consider the dispute as a roadblock to production of the new refrigerant and its supply to the European market, as an alternative to R134a for mobile-air conditioning systems in particular.

Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) Worldwide, March 1, 2012