Founded in December 1994, Metalast International, LLC (MILLC) was a "green" metal finishing technology company that provided its customers with a wide range of R&D, technical support services, process control computers and more than one hundred (100) metal finishing specialty chemicals serving the aluminum anodizing and corrosion control industry. Its founder and MILLC manager for 20 years (1993 to 2013) was David M. Semas (Semas), Chairman of Metalast International, Inc. (MII), incorporated in May 1994.

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Beginning in 2004 MILLC became a licensee of the United States Naval Air System Command (NAVAIR) and was one (1) of only three (3) companies, MILLC licensed to commercialize Navy TCP (Trivalent Chromium Process). Navy TCP is a patented environmentally friendly chromate conversion coating technology developed to replace hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen made famous in the movie "Erin Brockovich.”​​  

 

In 2006 MILLC entered into a manufacturing and sub-licensing agreement with Chemetall US, a business unit of one of the world's largest global chemical conglomerates, BASF for the production and commercialization of its Navy TCP licensed product line formulated and marketed under the Metalast® TCP-HF (hex free) brand.​​​

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Since 1996, "METALAST® is a federally registered trademark owned exclusively by Semas. Under a federal court approved settlement agreement since June 10, 2015, Chemeon Surface Technology, LLC, (Chemeon) and no other Chemeon distributor, nor any person or company has been licensed or authorized to use, reference, or describe any product or formulation as “formerly METALAST®.” Any such representation is unauthorized and may constitute trademark infringement or false designation of origin. These restrictions were further adjudicated by the United States District Court, of Nevada (Reno), including an injunction prohibiting unauthorized use since June 10, 2015 of the METALAST® trademark brand in February 2021 with the District Court’s 2023 final judgment affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in May 2024.

 

Where unauthorized use or misrepresentation of the Metalast® trademark or product brand identity involves Department of Defense procurement, NAVAIR Qualified Product List (QPL) certifications, defense contractors, aerospace, and aircraft manufacturers, or other QPL or MIL-SPEC federally regulated supply chains, the legal implications may extend beyond trademark infringement and civil liability.

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Any ultimate determination of civil or criminal liability would depend upon a thorough examination of the documentary evidence, the applicable federal statutes and regulations, and the findings of the U.S. Department of Justice, other appropriate federal regulatory or investigative authorities, or courts of competent jurisdiction. Such an examination could encompass potential violations of federal procurement laws, the False Claims Act, trademark protections, securities disclosure requirements, and other laws governing fraudulent representations and concealment of material facts.

 

Particular attention will likely be given to what senior corporate executives knew, when they became aware of the restrictions imposed by the federal court-approved settlement, what actions they subsequently authorized or permitted, and whether material information was knowingly withheld from government purchasers, aircraft, aerospace and defense contractors, customers, shareholders, or prospective purchasers of the business. The fundamental issue is whether the documented conduct represents an isolated commercial dispute or a sustained, financially motivated course of misrepresentation and concealment with broader consequences for the government, industry, and the public.

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