On April 14, 2026, Zhu Lei, the Marketing Director of Gree, took to social media to assert that Hisense Air Conditioners had directly adopted Gree's proprietary 'genuine copper' concept in their promotional materials at the Shanghai Home Expo. Zhu Lei underscored that 'genuine copper' is a unique innovation by Gree, encompassing four key components: evaporator copper tubes, condenser copper tubes, fan motor windings, and compressor motor windings, all crafted entirely from copper. He accused Hisense of plagiarism, arguing that their use of the promotional phrase without adhering to the all-copper standard was a clear infringement on Gree's original idea. On April 15, Hisense Air Conditioners issued a response, noting that media coverage in 2016 had already highlighted various home appliance companies embracing the 'genuine copper' approach, and that the question of who copied whom remained unresolved.