District Court of Nevada Rules in Favor of David Semas' Metalast® Trademark Against Chemeon for Breach of Contract Upheld by US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Cease And Desist Injunction Issued Against Chemeon For All Use Of Metalast® Trademark in Commerce
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 26, 2022 (Newswire.com) - On Feb. 23, 2021, the United States District Court, District of Nevada, Reno (District Court) issued a Cease and Desist Injunction and ruled against metal finishing specialty chemical company Chemeon Surface Technology, LLC (Chemeon) of Minden, Nevada. Under court order this injunction prohibits the unlawful use in commerce by anyone of the name "Metalast®", a USPTO registered trademark owned by David Semas.
Chemeon appealed the District Court order and on June 2, 2022, with a Mandate issued on June 24, 2022 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals further upheld the District Court's FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW. Any unauthorized use of the Metalast® name by Chemeon, Chemetall, a business unit of BASF, QualiChem or Chemeon's distributors after June 11, 2015 is a False Designation of Origin. All products or piece parts surface treated or processed after that date cannot be labeled, and are not, nor have even been "formerly Metalast", or "formerly known as Metalast." Any business marketing, distributing, selling or advertising any product characterized as such after June 11, 2015 does so without license or permission.
Chemeon, and its owners Dean and Madylon Meiling entered into a court approved contract promising after June 10, 2015, their business entities, therefore also Chemetall, QualiChem and their other distributors would "no longer be able to use the name Metalast® in any fashion or manner whatsoever." David Semas has not licensed or in any way otherwise or consented to the characterization of any business entity as being "Metalast®." Any manufacturer or any person who procures, aids, or abets the breach of this promise will be subject to a civil cause of action.
Effective June 10, 2015, David Semas hereby disclaims any and all liability for any product defects, wrongful death, personal injury, or property damage in anyway attributed, or alleged to be attributed to, any product advertised, represented, distributed, or sold as a Metalast product, or under the "formerly Metalast" moniker, with or without the ® symbol. To view court orders, other relevant court documents and additional information go to www.metalastinc.com.
Founded by David Semas in 1994, Metalast® International, Inc., as Manager for Metalast International, LLC was a provider of Metalast® anodizing technologies and its chemical products were used for corrosion control and other metal finishing processes.
METALAST® branded chemicals were approved and/or specified by BAE Systems, Boeing, Delphi, Ford, GE, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and hundreds of leading manufacturers worldwide including many Fortune 500 companies and the US Military. The company is perhaps best known for its development partnership with the US Navy and manufacturing and distribution partnership with Chemetall, a Business Unit of the global giant BASF Group, for the METALAST® TCP-HF line of products, the green chemical replacement to the harmful carcinogenic anti-corrosion chemical hexavalent chromium.
Source: Metalast, Inc.