Stites & Harbison, PLLC

Wizards of the Coast, LLC (“WOTC” or “Wizards”) and its parent company Hasbro, Inc. (“Hasbro”) recently found themselves facing unexpected backlash from their attempt to modify an existing license agreement which they had in place with content creators, the Open Game License (OGL), which allowed those creators to use game mechanics and other elements from the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) table-top role playing game. IP attorney TJ Mihill takes a look at what's going on.

In his recent State of the Union speech, President Biden highlighted an intention to increase enforcement of Buy America requirements for federally funded infrastructure projects. The next day, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed rule and notice of proposed guidance aimed at standardizing the implementation of the Build America, Buy America provision of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA or Act) enacted in November 2021. This proposed guidance is intended to clarify and strengthen enforcement of the Buy America requirements. Contractors pursuing and working on infrastructure projects funded by the Act need to be aware of these requirements summarized below.

Kentucky may soon join the growing number of states that have enacted data privacy legislation. On January 3, 2023, Senator Whitney Westerfield and Senator John Schickel introduced Senate Bill 15, which, if passed, will create new sections of KRS Chapter 367 to establish consumer protection rights for Kentucky residents relating to personal data.

Recently the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a Notice pertaining to a recent development in fraudulent communications pertaining to U.S. Trademark registrations and registration applications. Scammers are and have been accessing publicly available Trademark information and directly contacting applicants/registrants.