According to the source, in 1989 Autodesk’s Research Lab was developing an early virtual‑reality system built around a 386 computer with two Matrox graphics cards, a VPL EyePhone head‑mounted display, a Polhemus tracker and a data glove. The lab’s motto was “Reality Isn’t Enough Any More”. While working on the project, the author of the source spent time with Timothy Leary, who had introduced him to William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer and considered it prescient about the coming digital revolution.\n\nAs the VR effort moved toward becoming a product, Autodesk filed a trademark application for the term “cyberspace”. Timothy Leary told the author that Gibson was unhappy about this filing, prompting the author to send Gibson a conciliatory letter that ended with a quote from Gibson’s own work: “The street finds its own use for things.” Gibson’s lawyers replied with a letter, which the source says Autodesk ignored.\n\nTimothy Leary, described as an incorrigible prankster, then started a rumor that Gibson was attempting to trademark the name “Eric Gullichsen” in retaliation. The rumor was later embellished by John Barlow and amplified by Rudy Rucker, eventually becoming accepted as fact in some circles.\n\nAbout a year later, after leaving Autodesk for his own VR startup Sense8 Corporation, the author attended the inaugural Art Futura 1990 conference in Barcelona. There, in a hotel lobby, he met William Gibson. Gibson reportedly remarked in a laconic drawl that although the street finds its own use for things, “Autodesk is not the street”. The source recalls many glasses of cava being consumed during late‑night conversations before the usual Spanish tapas meals, and notes that after the various Art Futura parties the trademark dispute was largely put aside.\n\nThe source also mentions a memorable visit to Gaudí’s Park Güell, where the park’s famous mosaic lizard appears in Gibson’s novel Count Zero.\n\nIn summary, the source confirms that Autodesk did apply to register the term “cyberspace” and that Gibson objected to the application. However, the idea that Gibson tried to trademark “Eric Gullichsen” is characterized as a prank originated by Timothy Leary that spread through the comments of Barlow and Rucker and later became part of the lore surrounding the episode.
