Draft:VIPO

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Instructions · What links here · VIPO (talk: + · bio) · (log) · Copyvios report · reFill · Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs · (Search: Google, Wikipedia) · Submitted 6 days ago by ArcherEnterprise1 (talk: D · +) · Last edited 6 days ago by ArcherEnterprise1

The Virtual Intellectual Property Organization Inc. (VIPO) was established as a group in the Second Life virtual world and became a real life 501c3 non profit organization.^[1] It encourages the development, use, protection, and commercialization of content that is capable of intellectual property rights protection and is created within or for use within virtual environments, meaning on the internet and cloud based applications.^[2]

VIPO gained notoriety as the organization behind enforcement during the SLART trademark dispute .^[3]

The founder and Director General of VIPO, Tamiko Rochelle Franklin, represented Minsky, on behalf of the organization, during the cancellation procedure filed by Linden Research Inc., against the SLART trademark owner, before the United States Patent and Trademarks Offices’ Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, as well as, in the case SLART Enterprises v. Linden Labs et.al. ^[4]^[5]

The Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued in response to the Complaint was filed based on unanswered infringement notices sent by VIPO in the Second Life world. ^[6] ^[7] Its terms outlined enforcement measures to be taken by the service provider Linden Research Inc. to protect Minsky's registered trademark rights.^[8] The TRO granted in that lawsuit 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 and is recognized as establishing requirements for online service providers as regards the enforceability of virtual property that comprises virtual intellectual property rights. ^[9] VIPO continues to advocate for institution of legal mechanisms which support enforcement and consequently commercialization of user generated content on all online platforms. ^[10]

Expanding the definition of virtual property

Decades of research conducted by the organization proposes novel theories about the nature of data that expand the definition of virtual property, including user generated content, as virtual property specifically, intellectual property rights protected data and personality rights information as virtual property. ^[11]

VIPOs definition of virtual property that covers content, goods, and works hosted on remote servers, namely stored in the cloud, uploaded via activity in applications on web enabled devices or existing within web enabled environments and platforms.

The organization recommends modernization of mechanisms for the enforcement and exploitation of intellectual property and personality rights to reflect the realities of the internet and the information age. VIPO advocates for users' economic rights and property interest in data as content generation, data activity, and personality information. ^[12] Today, anyone with a phone can become an overnight viral sensation or can gain public notoriety, and the organization proposes there are no grounds to make distinctions between the identity rights of regular people and celebrities because both are based on the value associated with aspects of identity and the ability to regulate their commercial use.

Occupy Online

In 2025, VIPO launched a user movement called ‘Occupy Online’ on behalf of its International Internet Users Union (IIUU). The IIUU advances policies and recommendations to support the economic interests of internet users in their virtual property rights. VIPOs Union champions economic reforms to benefit users, such as, Universal Royalty Income (URI) as compensation in exchange for the commercial use of user content and personality information by AI providers, web enabled applications on user devices, and social media platforms. ^[13]

References

↑ <Benjamin Duranske> (January 27, 2008). "Non-profit Intellectual Property Organization Office Opens in Second Life". www.virtuallyblind.com/. Virtual Blind. Retrieved September 25, 2026. A new, non-profit, legal services organization, the Virtual Intellectual Property Organization(VIPO), has opened in Second Life. VIPO advertises that it offers "accessible legal advice concerning virtual property, trade and commerce and the use of real life intellectual property in virtual worlds."
↑ Duranske, Benjamin (2008). Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds. ISBN 9781604420098.
↑ <Tateru Nino> (November 24, 2008). "Minsky vs. Linden Lab: The Vezina incident". www.engadget.com/. Engadget. Retrieved September 21, 2026. Minskys legal representative Tamiko Franklin wrote to Linden Lab instructing them to enforce Minsky's trademark against Vezina.
↑ <Stephen Wu> (October 9, 2008). "Minsky SLART Cancellation Proceedings Suspended". www.3dinternetlaw.com/. 3DInternet Law. Retrieved September 24, 2026. Counsel for Mr. Minsky, Tamiko Franklin, contended that the civil action would resolve all the issues in the cancellation proceedings and therefore requested suspension pending the outcome of the federal suit. Linden Research opposed suspension, claiming that the issues would differ between the suit and the cancellation proceedings. Nonetheless, the Board agreed with Mr. Minsky (Ms. Franklin) and suspended the proceedings.
↑ <Benjamin Duranske> (October 23, 2008). "Attorney Tamiko Frankin Discusses Involvement in SLART case". www.virtuallyblind.com/. Virtually Blind. Retrieved April 2, 2018. she (Tamiko Franklin) is best known as the lawyer helping Richard Minsky navigate the nuances of trademark law as Minsky's suit over use of his registered trademark "SLART" in Second Life works its way through the courts.
↑ <Victor Keegan> (November 25, 2008). "How an avatar on Second Life sparked a real life court case". www.theguardian.com/. The Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2018. In a 25-page complaint to the US District Court of New York he says that on March 16 2008 his attorney, an avatar called Juris Amat, sent Vezina a "cease and desist" order that he failed to respond to.
↑ <Richard Minsky,Plaintiff> (August 11, 2008). "Minsky Amended Complaint" (PDF). www.3dinternetlaw.com/. 3D Internet Law. Retrieved September 21, 2026. I contacted an attorney who operates a non profit legal service in Second Life using the avatar name Juris Amat. In RL her name is Tamiko Franklin. She is an American with a Masters of Intellectual Property Law and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. On March 16 Ms. Franklin sent Vezina a cease and desist (c&d) notice by Instant Message(IM). Vezina did not respond.I asked Ms Franklin to contact Mr. Roberts (General Counsel for Linden Labs) She called Mr. Roberts office on May 13th.She received an email from an attorney in Mr. Roberts office named Laura Pirri. On June 2, Ms. Pirri asked "And did you confirm that he'll abandon the SLART registration with the USPTO? And that he'll stop his demands that other Residents not use SLArt? Please confirm that. It's important that he understand that he doesn't have the right to a mark that contains our mark, and that he doesn't have the right to demand that other Residents not make nominative fair use of SLArt." On June 3 Ms Franklin replied to Ms. Pirri: "As Mr. Minksy's legal representative, I'm not in a position to advise him to abandon his trademark when there are absolutely no legal grounds for doing so. Perhaps you can tell me …why is abandoning the registration in his legal interest? Our position is this, the question of whether SLART and SL Art are the same has already been decided in favor of Mr. Minsky. SLART is a registered trademark and we reject assertions based on there being no legal difference between it and the term SL Art. Consequently, it is in the interest of Linden Research Inc, that its employees, agents, representatives and other responsible persons do not support or condone infringing uses of the SLART trademark either directly or indirectly."
↑ <Tateru Nino> (September 23, 2008). "Minsky v. Linden Labs: Restraining orders and petitions". www.endgadget.com/. Endgadget.com. Retrieved September 25, 2026. If Minsky identifies infringement of the SLART trademark in Second Life, he must notify Linden Lab through appropriate channels, and Linden Lab has two business days to commence action to quash the infringement, and five business days to complete it. If there are any lumps or bumps in the procedure, the Lab is to inform Minsky, and for his part he may obtain the physical-world identities and contact information of users from the Lab if the nominated Magistrate Judge (David R. Homer) agrees that a prima facie(that is, self-evident from the facts) case of infringement exists, and that the information is necessary.
↑ <Staff> (June 28, 2010). "Case Analysis: Minsky v. Linden Research, Inc". www.patentarcade.com/. Patent Arcade. Retrieved September 25, 2026. The SLART trademark dispute against Linden Research raises issues of virtual intellectual property rights.
↑ <Tamiko Rochelle Franklin> (April 10, 2013). "United States Copyright Office Remedies for Small Claims" (PDF). www.copyright.gov/. U.S. Copyright Office. Retrieved September 25, 2026. We support the institution of a small claims copyright court. We recommend that the small claims court have capability to (1) operate online and (2) maintain jurisdiction of DMCA takedown related claims and counterclaims respectively which pertain to no more than a certain amount of USD. In that regard we would recommend limits be placed to no more than 5000.00 USD.
↑ Franklin, Tamiko (2024). "Virtual Property: Virtual Goods, Virtual Works and Virtual Intellectual Property Rights". SSRN 4714367. virtual property and related rights are born from individual author and user rights in certain original data or files embodying trademark, design or copyright protected works fixed in original non downloadable copies hosted on remote servers. Specifically, intellectual property rights protected content files saved on remote servers of online service providers and or non downloadable files and perceptible works, images and performances fixed and transmitted via web enabled or cloud application software.
↑ Franklin, Tamiko (2023). "Intellectual Property, Personality Rights, and Artificial Intelligence: Chatbots, Robots, and Vocaloids, oh my...". SSRN 4611395. To be clear privacy rights are not the same as personality or publicity rights.Privacy regulations protect against the intrusion of private or public interest into personal space. Regulations such as the GDPR, protect fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons and in particular their right to the protection of personal data. Personality and publicity rights relate to the unauthorized commercial use of personality attributes, including name, likeness, image or voice. The protection of personality rights under national laws largely depends on proving the unauthorized commercial use of an individual's identity aspects. The right of publicity is the inherent right of every human being to control the commercial use of his or her identity.
↑ Franklin, TR (2026). The Virtual Revolution: Virtual Property as Economic Rights in Data and its Use in Relation to Artificial Intelligence Products. US. ISBN 979-8996257218. The 'Occupy Online' movement was launched on Labor Day 2025 by the Virtual Intellectual Property Organization, Inc. (VIPO). Occupy Online motivates users worldwide to organize under one structure, the International Internet Users Union (IIUU), in order to effectively advocate for economic rights of users in data labor, as well as, data as intellectual property and personality rights protectable content aka virtual property. The IIUU members comprise an assembly within the VIPO and influence its development of internet technology, specifically contributing to and benefiting as stakeholders in the organization's Fair Trade Data Ecosystem. The Fair Trade Data Ecosystem is designed to support the commercialization of content rights and verification of the identities of the nearly 6 billion internet users on the planet.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[1] <Benjamin Duranske> (January 27, 2008). "Non-profit Intellectual Property Organization Office Opens in Second Life". www.virtuallyblind.com/. Virtual Blind. Retrieved September 25, 2026. A new, non-profit, legal services organization, the Virtual Intellectual Property Organization(VIPO), has opened in Second Life. VIPO advertises that it offers "accessible legal advice concerning virtual property, trade and commerce and the use of real life intellectual property in virtual worlds."

[2] Duranske, Benjamin (2008). Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds. ISBN 9781604420098.

[3] <Tateru Nino> (November 24, 2008). "Minsky vs. Linden Lab: The Vezina incident". www.engadget.com/. Engadget. Retrieved September 21, 2026. Minskys legal representative Tamiko Franklin wrote to Linden Lab instructing them to enforce Minsky's trademark against Vezina.

[4] <Stephen Wu> (October 9, 2008). "Minsky SLART Cancellation Proceedings Suspended". www.3dinternetlaw.com/. 3DInternet Law. Retrieved September 24, 2026. Counsel for Mr. Minsky, Tamiko Franklin, contended that the civil action would resolve all the issues in the cancellation proceedings and therefore requested suspension pending the outcome of the federal suit. Linden Research opposed suspension, claiming that the issues would differ between the suit and the cancellation proceedings. Nonetheless, the Board agreed with Mr. Minsky (Ms. Franklin) and suspended the proceedings.

[5] <Benjamin Duranske> (October 23, 2008). "Attorney Tamiko Frankin Discusses Involvement in SLART case". www.virtuallyblind.com/. Virtually Blind. Retrieved April 2, 2018. she (Tamiko Franklin) is best known as the lawyer helping Richard Minsky navigate the nuances of trademark law as Minsky's suit over use of his registered trademark "SLART" in Second Life works its way through the courts.

[6] <Victor Keegan> (November 25, 2008). "How an avatar on Second Life sparked a real life court case". www.theguardian.com/. The Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2018. In a 25-page complaint to the US District Court of New York he says that on March 16 2008 his attorney, an avatar called Juris Amat, sent Vezina a "cease and desist" order that he failed to respond to.

[7] <Richard Minsky,Plaintiff> (August 11, 2008). "Minsky Amended Complaint" (PDF). www.3dinternetlaw.com/. 3D Internet Law. Retrieved September 21, 2026. I contacted an attorney who operates a non profit legal service in Second Life using the avatar name Juris Amat. In RL her name is Tamiko Franklin. She is an American with a Masters of Intellectual Property Law and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. On March 16 Ms. Franklin sent Vezina a cease and desist (c&d) notice by Instant Message(IM). Vezina did not respond.I asked Ms Franklin to contact Mr. Roberts (General Counsel for Linden Labs) She called Mr. Roberts office on May 13th.She received an email from an attorney in Mr. Roberts office named Laura Pirri. On June 2, Ms. Pirri asked "And did you confirm that he'll abandon the SLART registration with the USPTO? And that he'll stop his demands that other Residents not use SLArt? Please confirm that. It's important that he understand that he doesn't have the right to a mark that contains our mark, and that he doesn't have the right to demand that other Residents not make nominative fair use of SLArt." On June 3 Ms Franklin replied to Ms. Pirri: "As Mr. Minksy's legal representative, I'm not in a position to advise him to abandon his trademark when there are absolutely no legal grounds for doing so. Perhaps you can tell me …why is abandoning the registration in his legal interest? Our position is this, the question of whether SLART and SL Art are the same has already been decided in favor of Mr. Minsky. SLART is a registered trademark and we reject assertions based on there being no legal difference between it and the term SL Art. Consequently, it is in the interest of Linden Research Inc, that its employees, agents, representatives and other responsible persons do not support or condone infringing uses of the SLART trademark either directly or indirectly."

[8] <Tateru Nino> (September 23, 2008). "Minsky v. Linden Labs: Restraining orders and petitions". www.endgadget.com/. Endgadget.com. Retrieved September 25, 2026. If Minsky identifies infringement of the SLART trademark in Second Life, he must notify Linden Lab through appropriate channels, and Linden Lab has two business days to commence action to quash the infringement, and five business days to complete it. If there are any lumps or bumps in the procedure, the Lab is to inform Minsky, and for his part he may obtain the physical-world identities and contact information of users from the Lab if the nominated Magistrate Judge (David R. Homer) agrees that a prima facie(that is, self-evident from the facts) case of infringement exists, and that the information is necessary.

[9] <Staff> (June 28, 2010). "Case Analysis: Minsky v. Linden Research, Inc". www.patentarcade.com/. Patent Arcade. Retrieved September 25, 2026. The SLART trademark dispute against Linden Research raises issues of virtual intellectual property rights.

[10] <Tamiko Rochelle Franklin> (April 10, 2013). "United States Copyright Office Remedies for Small Claims" (PDF). www.copyright.gov/. U.S. Copyright Office. Retrieved September 25, 2026. We support the institution of a small claims copyright court. We recommend that the small claims court have capability to (1) operate online and (2) maintain jurisdiction of DMCA takedown related claims and counterclaims respectively which pertain to no more than a certain amount of USD. In that regard we would recommend limits be placed to no more than 5000.00 USD.

[11] Franklin, Tamiko (2024). "Virtual Property: Virtual Goods, Virtual Works and Virtual Intellectual Property Rights". SSRN 4714367. virtual property and related rights are born from individual author and user rights in certain original data or files embodying trademark, design or copyright protected works fixed in original non downloadable copies hosted on remote servers. Specifically, intellectual property rights protected content files saved on remote servers of online service providers and or non downloadable files and perceptible works, images and performances fixed and transmitted via web enabled or cloud application software.

[12] Franklin, Tamiko (2023). "Intellectual Property, Personality Rights, and Artificial Intelligence: Chatbots, Robots, and Vocaloids, oh my...". SSRN 4611395. To be clear privacy rights are not the same as personality or publicity rights.Privacy regulations protect against the intrusion of private or public interest into personal space. Regulations such as the GDPR, protect fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons and in particular their right to the protection of personal data. Personality and publicity rights relate to the unauthorized commercial use of personality attributes, including name, likeness, image or voice. The protection of personality rights under national laws largely depends on proving the unauthorized commercial use of an individual's identity aspects. The right of publicity is the inherent right of every human being to control the commercial use of his or her identity.

[13] Franklin, TR (2026). The Virtual Revolution: Virtual Property as Economic Rights in Data and its Use in Relation to Artificial Intelligence Products. US. ISBN 979-8996257218. The 'Occupy Online' movement was launched on Labor Day 2025 by the Virtual Intellectual Property Organization, Inc. (VIPO). Occupy Online motivates users worldwide to organize under one structure, the International Internet Users Union (IIUU), in order to effectively advocate for economic rights of users in data labor, as well as, data as intellectual property and personality rights protectable content aka virtual property. The IIUU members comprise an assembly within the VIPO and influence its development of internet technology, specifically contributing to and benefiting as stakeholders in the organization's Fair Trade Data Ecosystem. The Fair Trade Data Ecosystem is designed to support the commercialization of content rights and verification of the identities of the nearly 6 billion internet users on the planet.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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This page was redesigned at the edge.

Expanding the definition of virtual property

Occupy Online

References