Second Life, because one of its users infringed on his trademark registration of SLART. Second Life avatar Juris Amat (real-life intellectual property attorney Tamiko Franklin) sent cease and desist letters to users regarding unauthorized use in world of the registered SLART trademark. In September 2008, Linden Lab responded by filing suit with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in an attempt to cancel Minsky's trademark registration. Franklin represented Minsky during the cancellation procedure filed by Linden Labs before the United States Patent and Trademarks Offices’ Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. On September 4, 2008, the U.S. District Court of Northern New York granted Minsky a temporary restraining order barring the use of SLART by other Second Life users. The Order provided that the trademark owner notify the online service provider of the identified infringement and allowed the provider two days to commence response to the infringement action and five days to complete it. The order also gave the trademark owner the right to obtain real-world identities of the infringer from the company if a prima facie case of infringement exists. This represents the first temporary restraining order granted by a federal judge for enforcement in a virtual environment of a federally registered trademark first used in a virtual environment. It affirmatively establishes the existence of virtual intellectual property rights. The court order from federal judge Lawrence E. Kahn documented Minsky's contention that the term SLART has multiple colloquial or slang meanings, "including a slut’s fart, a fart made while sleeping, and someone who is between a slut and a tart." In October 2008, the court granted a preliminary injunction in Minsky's favor. On October 10, Linden Lab sought to terminate Minsky's Second Life account. On January 22, 2009. the case was settled out of court and the trademark filing was cancelled on April 7, 2009. References External links The Book Art of Richard Minsky Richard Minsky at the Guild of Bookworkers Richard Minsky biography at Amazon.com 1947 births Living people Artists from New York (state) Brooklyn College alumni Brown University alumni Bookbinders People from Hudson, New York Second Life