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...

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...

€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...

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...

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...

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...

In this edition of the Neural Network, we look at key AI developments from July and August 2024. In regulatory updates, the EU AI Office launched a consultation on trustworthy general-purpose AI models, the European Commission published updates to its AI Act Q&A page, and the European Data Protection Board adopted a statement on data protection authorities' role in the AI Act framework. In AI enforcement and litigation news, the US Federal Trade Commission, US Department of Justice, the UK Competition and...

The sums required to meet global challenges like mitigating climate change and strengthening financial-market stability far exceed available public funding. Attracting voluntary private investment, however, will require the development of a menu of innovative financial instruments. WASHINGTON, DC – No one doubts that many of the world’s biggest challenges – such as mitigating climate change, strengthening financial-market stability, and boosting economic growth in developing and emerging economies – are deeply intertwined. Multilateral cooperation will thus lead to better outcomes than...