Stevan Lieberman
Encyclopedia
Stevan Lieberman is an American lawyer, regarded as a legal expert in intellectual property
law and patent law.He is a partner of the Washington, D.C.
-based law firm, Greenberg & Lieberman
, with Michael Greenberg
, established in 1996. As part of the firm, Lieberman has been involved in hundreds of UDRP
or trademark infringement
disputes, and he is considered a pioneer in the technology-law areas of virtual worlds, domain name
s and software, cited by CNN
as "among the virtual world's earning elite." Among the first lawyers in the world to begin generating a significant revenue and client base via online virtual worlds such as Second Life
, he is the co-founder and CEO of SpotOn3D.com.
in Garden City
, Long Island
, where he graduated in 1987 with a BA with Honors. He later earned a certificate with the Stroussbourg Institute of Human Rights in 1993 and earned his juris doctor
from the David A. Clarke School of Law
(District of Columbia School of Law) in May 1994. Lieberman is a member of the American Bar Association
, American Intellectual Property Law Association
, Montgomery County Bar Association, Montgomery County High Tech Committee, and Alpha Epsilon Phi Fraternity.
Lieberman formed Washington, D.C.
-based law firm, Greenberg & Lieberman
, with Michael Greenberg
in 1996. A national and an international firm, the company has a particular focus on computer Internet law and patent prosecution for small businesses. As of 2010, the firm has served over 20,000 clients.
In the burgeoning area of domain name
law and litigation, Lieberman is recognized as one of the top three legal experts in the world. Lieberman is regarded as being on the forefront of litigation relating to reverse domain hijacking
as well as domain names and trademarks in dispute.Through his law firm, Lieberman has testified to Congress while also listing as a colleague John B. Anderson
, who was a 10-term Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives.
case which ended in November 2002 when JDL chairman Irv Rubin
died in suspicious circumstances in jail, and defended against copyright infringement in the Studio Martis, B.V. v. Joseph D. Wager Smith case. In 2001 he was involved in a trademark matter concerning Apache Boats v. Mark McManus and made a motion to dismiss in the Ramfan Corporation v. Super Vacum Manufacturing case. In 2002, Lieberman's involvement in the
Ramsey v. Schutt, et al. in the Maryland State Circuit Court for Charles County was influential in changing the rule in Maryland pertaining to what is necessary in a contract to obviate liability.
In 2003, Lieberman was involved in several UDRP
or trademark infringement disputes such as Size, inc. v. Future Media Architects
, Jensen Research v. Future Media Architects, Internet Development Corp v. TitleSoft, Internet Development Corp v.Senetek
, Quantum Software Systems Ltd v. Future Media Architects, and a copyright infringement case, Future Media Architects v. Corey Richardson. In 2004, the firm continued to represent Future Media Architects and Internet Development Corporation in a series of disputes over UDRP and trademark infringements and other matters including representing Future Media Architects against Cool, Inc., QNX
, Capital Networks PTY Ltd, Punto Verde, Murat Yikilmaz and Hay Napa International, and representing Internet Development Corporation against B.S.A. Corp. at Maryland District Court, Freightliner
and Lactel
.
In 2005, Lieberman was involved in the federal court and mediation in the Ariadne Genomics
v. Stratagene California
dispute. He was hired by Mastercard International Incorporated v. Priceless.com to settle a trademark matter. The firm also represented clients in several UDRP cases such as EuroChannel
, Inc. v. Mrs. Jello, Weld Racing Inc. v. Web Development Group, Ltd., and RCS Recover Services v. John Laxton RL.COM, a case which is still ongoing as of September 2011. In 2006, Lieberman represented H2Ocean against Schmitt, April’s After-Care and April’s Attic in a case which was settled and was involved in UDRP disputes such as Equifax
, inc v. The Tidewinds Group, Inc., Marchex
v. Name Development Corp. and Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. v. Tom Weisel House of Entertainment.
In 2007, Greenberg & Lieberman were hired by businessman Antonis Polemitis in a case against Ville de Paris, a Municipal Corporation of the city of Paris
at the Virginia Eastern District Court
involving the Lanham Act
in which the client claimed tortious interference with contract and defamation. They also represented some major global firms in trademark matters such as Nike, Inc.
v. Niyad Enterprise in California Central District Court
, Microsoft
v. Domain Source, Inc. and UDRP cases such as HSBC
Finance Corp. v. Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc. and Payday America, Inc. v. XEDOC HOLDING, SA.
In 2008, Lieberman was involved in a trademark/domain matter between Air China
and Airchina.com and with LG Electronics USA and LG.com. He was also hired in a Second Life case between Chris Mead and Jakob Hyvarinen and in the UDRP cases of Blue Magic
, Inc. v. Johns Creak Software Inc. and Genzyme Corporation v. Abadaba S.A.. In 2009 he was again hired by Abadaba in a trademark matter against Microsoft and by the Broward Rehab Center Inc. against Rafael Foss. Lieberman also represented dentist Alex McMillan, IV v. Tom Winkler case in a dispute over cybersquatting. The Alexandria Circuit Court ruled in favor of their client McMillan in a case which involved "a legal action initiated against a former employee charged with trademark infringement, trade secret violations, and domain theft." Lieberman has said, "2009 was most definitely an interesting year. We saw a large number of corporations, Verizon, Microsoft & Costco to just mention a few, taking the scorched earth point of view and suing everyone they can, even individuals and entities that no longer owned the alleged infringing domain names. This of course led to a large number of confidential settlements, which it can be assumed, were all rather painful to those paying to end the law suits."
In 2010, Lieberman was involved in copyright cases in the John M. Smith vs Gosmile, Inc. dispute (settled), and began representing the Second Life firm Amaretto Ranch Breedables, LLC v. Ozimals, Inc. in a copyright infringement case in California Northern District Court, overlooked by judge Charles R. Breyer
. As of October 2011, the Amaretto case is still ongoing. He was also active in the Warren Weitzman v. Lead Networks trademark case and was hired by The ERGO Baby Carrier
, Inc. v. Amaya Lucy in a UDRP case. In 2011, Greenberg & Lieberman were again hired by ERGO to represent them in another UDRP case against Henghao Zhan Jianzong and by Value Eyecare Network, Inc. in a dispute against Chengbiao Zhan. In April 2011, Lieberman lost a case representing Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
of the Modern Orthodox National Synagogue
in northwest Washington when U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan
denied the request of the rabbi to have an upcoming local election rescheduled because it conflicted with the Jewish Passover.
. For example, through the Washington, DC-based law firm of Greenberg & Lieberman, CNN
has cited him as "among the virtual world's earning elite."In 2007 CNN reported that the American Bar Association
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) are among the organizations seeking assistance and legal guidance from Lieberman on issues relating to business practices in virtual worlds. He is a regular lecturer for the Montgomery County Bar Association on intellectual property issues. He has said, "IP law is extraordinarily complicated and a 3-D image helps people to reach out and touch items so that they can understand my explanations. Second Life makes people feel as if they have physically met one another. In addition, its interactive capabilities help users, particularly lawyers, to clarify difficult concepts. Second Life is not another world; it is an extension of real life." Lieberman assumes the name of "Navets Potato" (Navets is Stevan spelt backwards) in Second Life and has multiple avatars, one which resembles himself and some six others as of 2007, based on what he wants to accomplish.
During a presentation at the Sun Microsystems headquarters in September 2009, Stevan Lieberman received a FountainBlue award for his work in virtual worlds, virtual real estate, and virtual tools. The FountainBlue award related to his work with SpotOn3D.com, a development project that seeks to interlink virtual environments and grids in a more organic manner via a common gateway so that avatars can ultimately interact together. Lieberman is the co-founder and CEO of the SpotOn3d.com project, a 3D web environment designed for today's digital business. SpotON3D's states that its "patent pending technology brings the experience and functionality of real life to today's web through three dimensional spaces. Here, people will break out of the traditional 2D format of information sharing, collaboration, and social media, and jump into three dimensional Web Spaces."
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
law and patent law.He is a partner of the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based law firm, Greenberg & Lieberman
Greenberg & Lieberman
Greenberg & Lieberman is a national and international law firm based in Washington, D.C. Established in 1996 by Michael Greenberg and Stevan Lieberman, the firm is known for its expertise in the technology-law areas of intellectual property, trademark infringements, domain names, virtual worlds, ...
, with Michael Greenberg
Michael Greenberg (lawyer)
Michael Greenberg is an American lawyer, regarded as a legal expert in intellectual property law and patent law. He is a partner of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm, Greenberg & Lieberman, with Stevan Lieberman, established in 1996...
, established in 1996. As part of the firm, Lieberman has been involved in hundreds of UDRP
Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy
The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy is a process established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for the resolution of disputes regarding the registration of internet domain names...
or trademark infringement
Trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees...
disputes, and he is considered a pioneer in the technology-law areas of virtual worlds, domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
s and software, cited by CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
as "among the virtual world's earning elite." Among the first lawyers in the world to begin generating a significant revenue and client base via online virtual worlds such as Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
, he is the co-founder and CEO of SpotOn3D.com.
Early life and background
Lieberman was born in Brooklyn, New York City in 1965. He attended Adelphi UniversityAdelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
in Garden City
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where he graduated in 1987 with a BA with Honors. He later earned a certificate with the Stroussbourg Institute of Human Rights in 1993 and earned his juris doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the David A. Clarke School of Law
David A. Clarke School of Law
The David A. Clarke School of Law is the law school of the University of the District of Columbia . It is Washington, D.C.'s only public law school.-History:...
(District of Columbia School of Law) in May 1994. Lieberman is a member of the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, American Intellectual Property Law Association
American Intellectual Property Law Association
The American Intellectual Property Law Association is a national bar association that was formed in 1897 to improve intellectual property laws and educate the public about such issues....
, Montgomery County Bar Association, Montgomery County High Tech Committee, and Alpha Epsilon Phi Fraternity.
Lieberman formed Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based law firm, Greenberg & Lieberman
Greenberg & Lieberman
Greenberg & Lieberman is a national and international law firm based in Washington, D.C. Established in 1996 by Michael Greenberg and Stevan Lieberman, the firm is known for its expertise in the technology-law areas of intellectual property, trademark infringements, domain names, virtual worlds, ...
, with Michael Greenberg
Michael Greenberg (lawyer)
Michael Greenberg is an American lawyer, regarded as a legal expert in intellectual property law and patent law. He is a partner of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm, Greenberg & Lieberman, with Stevan Lieberman, established in 1996...
in 1996. A national and an international firm, the company has a particular focus on computer Internet law and patent prosecution for small businesses. As of 2010, the firm has served over 20,000 clients.
In the burgeoning area of domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
law and litigation, Lieberman is recognized as one of the top three legal experts in the world. Lieberman is regarded as being on the forefront of litigation relating to reverse domain hijacking
Reverse domain hijacking
Reverse domain name hijacking , occurs where a trademark owner attempts to secure a domain name by making false cybersquatting claims against a domain name’s rightful owner...
as well as domain names and trademarks in dispute.Through his law firm, Lieberman has testified to Congress while also listing as a colleague John B. Anderson
John B. Anderson
John Bayard Anderson is a former United States Congressman and Presidential candidate from Illinois. He was a U.S. Representative from the 16th Congressional District of Illinois for ten terms from 1961 through 1981 and an Independent candidate in the 1980 presidential election. He was previously...
, who was a 10-term Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Career
As part of Greenberg & Lieberman, Lieberman and Greenberg have filed almost 300 trademarks and over 560 patent files as of September 2011. One of his earliest cases was a successful motion to dismiss copyright infringement suit based on lack of personal jurisdiction in Evan K. Aidman v. Mark S. Nelson in 1999. In September 1999 he was involved in a motion to dismiss patent infringement matter in Molnlycke Health Care AB v. Dumex Medical Surgical, a notable case in Internet law. In 2000 he was involved in a trademark infringement matter in the National Jewish Defense League (JDL) v. Mordechai LevyMordechai Levy
Mark "Mordechai" Levy is a U.S.-based political activist and founder of the militant Jewish Defense Organization , a breakaway faction of the Jewish Defense League...
case which ended in November 2002 when JDL chairman Irv Rubin
Irv Rubin
Irving D. Rubin was chairman of the Jewish Defense League from 1985 to 2002. He allegedly committed suicide in jail when awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to bomb private and government property....
died in suspicious circumstances in jail, and defended against copyright infringement in the Studio Martis, B.V. v. Joseph D. Wager Smith case. In 2001 he was involved in a trademark matter concerning Apache Boats v. Mark McManus and made a motion to dismiss in the Ramfan Corporation v. Super Vacum Manufacturing case. In 2002, Lieberman's involvement in the
Ramsey v. Schutt, et al. in the Maryland State Circuit Court for Charles County was influential in changing the rule in Maryland pertaining to what is necessary in a contract to obviate liability.
In 2003, Lieberman was involved in several UDRP
Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy
The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy is a process established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for the resolution of disputes regarding the registration of internet domain names...
or trademark infringement disputes such as Size, inc. v. Future Media Architects
Future Media Architects
Future Media Architects is an internet development company founded in 2002. FMA is primarily known for its large portfolio of internet domain names, estimated to exceed 120,000, and has faced several lawsuits....
, Jensen Research v. Future Media Architects, Internet Development Corp v. TitleSoft, Internet Development Corp v.Senetek
Senetek
Senetek PLC is an American life sciences company "engaged in the development of technologies that target the science of healthy aging." The company has wholly owned subsidiaries, Senetek Drug Delivery Technologies Inc. , Carme Cosmeceutical Sciences Inc. and Senetek Denmark ApS...
, Quantum Software Systems Ltd v. Future Media Architects, and a copyright infringement case, Future Media Architects v. Corey Richardson. In 2004, the firm continued to represent Future Media Architects and Internet Development Corporation in a series of disputes over UDRP and trademark infringements and other matters including representing Future Media Architects against Cool, Inc., QNX
QNX
QNX is a commercial Unix-like real-time operating system, aimed primarily at the embedded systems market. The product was originally developed by Canadian company, QNX Software Systems, which was later acquired by Canadian BlackBerry-producer Research In Motion.-Description:As a microkernel-based...
, Capital Networks PTY Ltd, Punto Verde, Murat Yikilmaz and Hay Napa International, and representing Internet Development Corporation against B.S.A. Corp. at Maryland District Court, Freightliner
Freightliner
Freightliner can refer to* Freightliner Trucks, a heavy vehicle manufacturer in the United States* Freightliner Group Limited, a European rail-freight operator* Freight liner , describing a cargo ship operating to a repeating schedule...
and Lactel
Lactel
Lactel is a French/Canadian company specializing in "bio" milk products. In 1992, Lacitel was involved in a Canadian-US government dispute over the Canada-US Free Trade Act of 1989 and the Puerto Rican Health and Safety standard. After years of dispute, Lacitel was finally permitted to export to...
.
In 2005, Lieberman was involved in the federal court and mediation in the Ariadne Genomics
Ariadne Genomics
Ariadne Genomics, Inc. is an American firm based in Rockville, Maryland which develops software for genomics and proteomics for pharmaceutical and agricultural companies, academic researchers, and research laboratories internationally. Its ARIADNE Pathway Studio powered by MedScan Technology is...
v. Stratagene California
Stratagene California
Stratagene California is an American biotechnological company based in La Jolla, California. It was established in 1984 and incorporated in California. It has been involved with the fields of cellular analysis, cloning, cytogenomics, DNA Methylation and DNA Sizing and Quantification and food...
dispute. He was hired by Mastercard International Incorporated v. Priceless.com to settle a trademark matter. The firm also represented clients in several UDRP cases such as EuroChannel
Eurochannel
Eurochannel is a world television channel focused on European culture and lifestyle throughout movies, series and other programs dedicated to European culture...
, Inc. v. Mrs. Jello, Weld Racing Inc. v. Web Development Group, Ltd., and RCS Recover Services v. John Laxton RL.COM, a case which is still ongoing as of September 2011. In 2006, Lieberman represented H2Ocean against Schmitt, April’s After-Care and April’s Attic in a case which was settled and was involved in UDRP disputes such as Equifax
Equifax
Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit...
, inc v. The Tidewinds Group, Inc., Marchex
Marchex
Marchex, Inc. is a Seattle-based firm, specializing in call advertising, tracking and analytics products. As of October 2011 it had a market capital of nearly $300 million. Established in 2002, of September 2006, the company had spent $164 million on domains and they have been involved in many...
v. Name Development Corp. and Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. v. Tom Weisel House of Entertainment.
In 2007, Greenberg & Lieberman were hired by businessman Antonis Polemitis in a case against Ville de Paris, a Municipal Corporation of the city of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the Virginia Eastern District Court
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia...
involving the Lanham Act
Lanham Act
The Lanham Act is a piece of legislation that contains the federal statutes of trademark law in the United States. The Act prohibits a number of activities, including trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and false advertising.-History:Named for Representative Fritz G...
in which the client claimed tortious interference with contract and defamation. They also represented some major global firms in trademark matters such as Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
v. Niyad Enterprise in California Central District Court
United States District Court for the Central District of California
The United States District Court for the Central District of California serves over 18 million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
v. Domain Source, Inc. and UDRP cases such as HSBC
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
Finance Corp. v. Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc. and Payday America, Inc. v. XEDOC HOLDING, SA.
In 2008, Lieberman was involved in a trademark/domain matter between Air China
Air China
Air China is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People's Republic of China. Based in Beijing Capital International Airport, Air China is the world's 10th largest airline by fleet size. The airline ranked behind its main competitors China Southern Airlines and China Eastern...
and Airchina.com and with LG Electronics USA and LG.com. He was also hired in a Second Life case between Chris Mead and Jakob Hyvarinen and in the UDRP cases of Blue Magic
Blue Magic
Blue Magic can refer to:* Blue Magic , a R&B and soul music vocal quintet.*"Blue Magic" , a song from rapper Jay-Z's album American Gangster...
, Inc. v. Johns Creak Software Inc. and Genzyme Corporation v. Abadaba S.A.. In 2009 he was again hired by Abadaba in a trademark matter against Microsoft and by the Broward Rehab Center Inc. against Rafael Foss. Lieberman also represented dentist Alex McMillan, IV v. Tom Winkler case in a dispute over cybersquatting. The Alexandria Circuit Court ruled in favor of their client McMillan in a case which involved "a legal action initiated against a former employee charged with trademark infringement, trade secret violations, and domain theft." Lieberman has said, "2009 was most definitely an interesting year. We saw a large number of corporations, Verizon, Microsoft & Costco to just mention a few, taking the scorched earth point of view and suing everyone they can, even individuals and entities that no longer owned the alleged infringing domain names. This of course led to a large number of confidential settlements, which it can be assumed, were all rather painful to those paying to end the law suits."
In 2010, Lieberman was involved in copyright cases in the John M. Smith vs Gosmile, Inc. dispute (settled), and began representing the Second Life firm Amaretto Ranch Breedables, LLC v. Ozimals, Inc. in a copyright infringement case in California Northern District Court, overlooked by judge Charles R. Breyer
Charles R. Breyer
-Early life and career:Born in San Francisco, California, Breyer received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1963 and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1966. He was a law clerk to Oliver Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of...
. As of October 2011, the Amaretto case is still ongoing. He was also active in the Warren Weitzman v. Lead Networks trademark case and was hired by The ERGO Baby Carrier
ERGO Baby Carrier
ERGO Baby Carrier is an American company specializing in the manufacture and sale of baby carriers, baby backpacks, and other accessories. They are aimed at babies and toddlers from the age of 4 months to 4 years...
, Inc. v. Amaya Lucy in a UDRP case. In 2011, Greenberg & Lieberman were again hired by ERGO to represent them in another UDRP case against Henghao Zhan Jianzong and by Value Eyecare Network, Inc. in a dispute against Chengbiao Zhan. In April 2011, Lieberman lost a case representing Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
Shmuel Herzfeld
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, born October 9, 1974, in Staten Island, New York is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi who heads the National Synagogue, of Washington, DC. He is a teacher, lecturer, and activist....
of the Modern Orthodox National Synagogue
National Synagogue
The National Synagogue or Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah ; OSTT is the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Washington, D.C.The synagogue is located in the neighborhood of Shepherd Park...
in northwest Washington when U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan
Emmet G. Sullivan
Emmet G. Sullivan is a US District Court Judge in Washington, D.C.Judge Emmet G. Sullivan was born in Washington, D.C. and attended public schools in the District of Columbia until his graduation from McKinley High School in 1964...
denied the request of the rabbi to have an upcoming local election rescheduled because it conflicted with the Jewish Passover.
Virtual World contribution
Lieberman is credited for being among the first lawyers in the world to begin generating a significant revenue and client base via online virtual worlds such as Second LifeSecond Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
. For example, through the Washington, DC-based law firm of Greenberg & Lieberman, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
has cited him as "among the virtual world's earning elite."In 2007 CNN reported that the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) are among the organizations seeking assistance and legal guidance from Lieberman on issues relating to business practices in virtual worlds. He is a regular lecturer for the Montgomery County Bar Association on intellectual property issues. He has said, "IP law is extraordinarily complicated and a 3-D image helps people to reach out and touch items so that they can understand my explanations. Second Life makes people feel as if they have physically met one another. In addition, its interactive capabilities help users, particularly lawyers, to clarify difficult concepts. Second Life is not another world; it is an extension of real life." Lieberman assumes the name of "Navets Potato" (Navets is Stevan spelt backwards) in Second Life and has multiple avatars, one which resembles himself and some six others as of 2007, based on what he wants to accomplish.
During a presentation at the Sun Microsystems headquarters in September 2009, Stevan Lieberman received a FountainBlue award for his work in virtual worlds, virtual real estate, and virtual tools. The FountainBlue award related to his work with SpotOn3D.com, a development project that seeks to interlink virtual environments and grids in a more organic manner via a common gateway so that avatars can ultimately interact together. Lieberman is the co-founder and CEO of the SpotOn3d.com project, a 3D web environment designed for today's digital business. SpotON3D's states that its "patent pending technology brings the experience and functionality of real life to today's web through three dimensional spaces. Here, people will break out of the traditional 2D format of information sharing, collaboration, and social media, and jump into three dimensional Web Spaces."