Real Life Second Life Trademark Disputes

Linden Labs, makers of the popular internet game Second Life, may not be able to claim their game to be “escapist fun” much longer. Second Life is a multi-user, on-line gaming world where players can create digital versions of themselves and engage with other users in virtual worlds. You can also buy virtual real estate or create any number of objects, like clothing, kitchenware, or even virtual paintings to sell or share with other users. It is these creations that have fallen into the category of Second Life Art or “slart”, a term which was trademarked by one Second Life user, Richard Minsky, and is now at the center of a trademark dispute.

The case hinges on the make-up of the trademark itself, SLART. Linden Labs claims that ‘SL’ is part of their trademark and users are only allowed to use the letters if they’re followed by a space and two generic nouns, like “SL Café Table”. Minsky, however, contends that he trademarked SLART fairly and that Linden Labs failed to respond to his requests in March to discipline another user who was using the word “slart” in conjunction with a virtual art gallery. One problem may lie in the fact that the word slart may have become a generic term in the game for any art created within the confines of the Second Life world. The pending case will prove to be an interesting test of the application of trademark law to a virtual world.