Both houses of Congress recently introduced a new, bipartisan bill that could have significant impacts on patent law. The Realizing Engineering, Science, and Technology Opportunities by Restoring Exclusive (RESTORE) Patent Rights Act of 2024 is a legislative proposal aimed at enhancing the enforcement rights of patent holders in the United States. It was introduced on July 30, 2024 in the U.S. Senate by Chris Coons (D-DE) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) and in the House by Representatives by Nathaniel Moran...

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Introduction  Effective economic evaluations in the early stages of mining projects are crucial for determining their feasibility and potential profitability. These evaluations are foundational, impacting investment decisions potentially worth billions of dollars and influencing the strategic direction of entire operations. Yet, this initial phase is fraught with complexities and potential for critical errors.  Mining projects require substantial upfront investments, often in the range of hundreds of millions to several billion dollars, depending on the scale and location. For example, the average...

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Welcome to the Stephenson Harwood Data Protection update, covering the key developments in data protection and cyber security law from August 2024. This month, noyb filed nine GDPR complaints against X's plans to utilise user data to train its AI chatbot, the UK Government proposed increasing data protection fees, the EU and China begin talks on cross-border data transfers, the ICO launched its fifth call for evidence on generative AI, the European Commission launched a call for evidence on the...

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In this week’s Roar: Chinese import tariffs, cycles in air freight, container demand, the environmental impact of the Red Sea crisis, and the state of the IoT. It’s election season in the U.S., so it should be no surprise that specific campaign topics have implications on trade and supply chains. At the center of the discussion are possible increased tariffs on certain Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, Chinese-made cranes, and even Chinese made steel. U.S. manufacturers and politicians want exemptions or...

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A decision from the Federal Circuit published August 12, 2024 (Celanese Int’l Corp. v. ITC, Appeal No. 2022-1827) definitively answers a question pondered by many since the America Invents Act (AIA) came into being more than a decade ago: does selling a product made by a secret process more than a year before filing a patent application render claims to that process unpatentable under the “on-sale bar?” History and the Decision Celanese obtained a patent for a process of making an...

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Mannheimer Swartling congratulates SAS – Scandinavian Airlines – on the successful emergence from its restructuring proceedings in Sweden and in the U.S. We are proud to have provided legal services to SAS over the past 75+ years and we look forward to continuing to do so as SAS enters a new era and remains as Scandinavia’s leading airline. SAS initiated its restructuring proceedings in order to accelerate the implementation of its comprehensive business and financial transformation plan, SAS FORWARD. The...

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€5 billion for clean energy, water and forestry €2.6 billion for corporate innovation and business financing €3.1 billion for health, housing and education €137 million for sustainable transport and better communications The Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) today backed €10.8 billion of new financing to support renewable energy, restore degraded forests, build affordable homes, new hospitals and better schools, upgrade water, transport and communications networks, and enable businesses to innovate and create jobs. EIB President Nadia...

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A Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards shows federal awards active during an audit period and summarizes expenditures incurred under each federal program. The SEFA — Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards — is the key report required for organizations subject to single audits. It indicates what federal awards were in play during an audit period, and summarizes the expenditures incurred under each federal program. The SEFA becomes the crux for determining what major programs your auditors will be testing, and...

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Tradewind Finance, an international trade finance company, today announced that it has closed a USD 17 million credit facility for a best-selling consumer product manufacturer offering at-home sporting equipment. The USA-headquartered equipment brand makes a variety of strength training products including kettle bells, dumb bells, chin-up bars, and more that it sells directly to consumers, Amazon, and to other e-tailers around the world. The sporting goods brand is utilizing the facility to unlock cash flow for its expanding international...

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In this week’s Roar: an early holiday for shippers, U.S. imports up, an embargo in Canada, port strikes and air freight, and a perspective on digital transformation. U.S. retailers are stepping up holiday imports due to fears of potential strikes at ports and continuing disruptions on the Red Sea. This led to more than usual container imports in July, mostly fed by precautionary measures instead of consumer demand — which is restrained by inflation and high interest rates. If a strike...

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