William Gibson and the trademarking of cyberspace

From the earliest days of the Internet, a tale emerged that Autodesk had trademarked the term "cyberspace," prompting author William Gibson to respond with his own trademarking of "Eric Gullichsen." In 1989, I worked at Autodesk's Research Lab, collaborating on early virtual reality technology. Our project utilized a 386 computer, Matrox graphics cards, a VPL EyePhone, a Polhemus tracker, and a data glove.

The system ran at six to ten frames per second, allowing us to experience a virtual reality environment, albeit with limited performance. With a motto of "Reality Isn’t Enough Anymore," I spent much of my time with Timothy Leary, who suggested I leave my job at MCC and move to California. We became close friends, and I frequently wrote with him, most of which has not been published.

Timothy, who made appearances in an Autodesk virtual reality video, jokingly referred to our lab as "Cyberia." He was a great admirer of Gibson's groundbreaking 1984 novel, "Neuromancer," which he believed foresaw the digital revolution. As our VR development progressed towards commercialization, we applied for a trademark for "cyberspace."

Timothy, being the prankster he was, shared rumors that Gibson was retaliating by trademarking "Eric Gullichsen." These rumors were further amplified by others, including John Brunner, until they became widely accepted as historical fact.