ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,241,254, issued on March 4, was assigned to durlum Group GmbH (Schopfheim, Germany).

"Panel element for lining a ceiling and/or wall, and lining for a ceiling and/or wall" was invented by Matthias Reuter (Schopfheim, Germany) and Tobias Ruf (Schopfheim, Germany).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Panel elements for lining ceilings and/or walls are provided. Here, a panel element (1), among others, is proposed, having a holding device (4) that is used to fix at least one holding spring (3), which is used to secure the panel element (1) to the ceiling and/or wall, in the transport position of the holding spring."

The patent was filed on May 20...