Charles Hernan Carreon (born April 7, 1956) is an American trial attorney best known for his involvement in a legal dispute between The Oatmeal webcomic and content aggregator FunnyJunk. As of 2012, he represented individuals and companies in matters pertaining to Internet law."About Charles Carreon" on the CharlesCarreon.com website

Life and career Carreon was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1987 and the Oregon State Bar in 1993.

In October 2005, Carreon was suspended by the Oregon State Bar for 60 days for the unlawful practice of law and failing to deposit or maintain client funds in trust.Oregon State Bar (November 2005). Charles H. Carreon OSB #93469. Oregon State Bar Bulletin

In September 2006, Carreon was suspended for two years by the State Bar of California, stayed, and placed on two years of probation with an actual 60-day suspension for violating his duty to maintain client funds in trust, and for practicing without a license in Canada.

Carreon and his wife have two daughters. Their son Joshua died in 2007.Staff report (February 16, 2007). Updated: One person dies in collision. Redding Record SearchlightStaff report. Farewell To A Good Man. Ashland Free Press

Sex.com

Carreon was part of the legal team that successfully litigated the Sex.com domain-name rights case.Philipkoski, Kristen (August 4, 2000). This Sex Drama's Getting Hot. WiredStaff report (June 13, 2003). Six-year battle over sex.com settled. Sydney Morning Herald

The sex.com rights case was brought after entrepreneur Gary Kremen lost control of the domain to Stephen M. Cohen.McCarthy, Kieren (2007). Sex.com: One Domain, Two Men, Twelve Years and the Brutal Battle for the Jewel in the Internet’s Crown. Quercus. The case took six years, with a $65 million judgment awarded to Kremen in 2001.Sex.com lawsuit: Attorney List, Charles Carreon Declarations, Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Court Order Granting Preliminary Injunction Carreon later brought a suit against Kremen over compensation for the case.Glasner, Joanna (March 9, 2001). Sex.com Spends Day on Trial. Wired In 2008, Carreon self-published his account of events as The Sex.com Chronicles.Carreon, Charles (2008). The Sex.com Chronicles. 1 Prime Publishing,

American Buddha

Carreon represents American Buddha, which he describes as a non-profit religious organization whose director and librarian is his wife Tara Lyn Carreon.Penguin Group (USA) Inc. v. American Buddha, Case No. 09 CIV 00528 (S.D.N.Y.): Declaration of Charles Carreon

In 2009, publisher Penguin Group sued American Buddha over the uploading of four copyrighted books for which Penguin holds the rights.Virtanen, Michael (March 24, 2011). NY court: Keep Internet copyright disputes at home. Bloomberg BusinessweekDocket list: Penguin Group (USA) Inc. v. American Buddha, Case No. 09 CIV 00528 (S.D.N.Y.)

The Oatmeal

In June 2012, Carreon represented FunnyJunk.com in sending a demand letter alleging defamation and requesting damages from Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal in a long-standing copyright infringement dispute.Inman, Matthew (June 2012). FunnyJunk is threatening to file a federal lawsuit against me unless I pay $20,000 in damages. The Oatmeal On June 14, Carreon alleged he suffered "security attacks instigated by Matt Inman".Carreon's website Accessed:June 14, 2012Thier, Dave. "Funnyjunk's Lawyer Accuses The Oatmeal of Instigating Attacks Against Him" Forbes (June 14, 2012)

On June 15, Carreon filed a pro se lawsuit Carreon v. Inman et al. in United States District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland against IndieGoGo, Inc., the American Cancer Society, and the National Wildlife Federation, for alleged improprieties related to an Oatmeal charity fundraiser created in response to the FunnyJunk demand.Biggs, John (June 17, 2012). Can I Sue You People? Troll Lawyer Sues The Charities The Oatmeal Supports. TechCrunch Accessed June 18, 2012Thier, Dave (June 18, 2012). Lawyer Charles Carreon Suing The Oatmeal, American Cancer Society and National Wildlife Federation. ForbesCarreon v. Inman et al via Santa Clara Law Digital Commons Carreon stated he planned to subpoena Twitter and Ars Technica to determine the identity of the creator of a fake Twitter account which parodied Carreon.Thier, Dave (June 21, 2012). Charles Carreon Subpoeaning Ars Technica, Twitter in Oatmeal Suit. Forbes On June 21, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced they were joining with the lead lawyer representing Inman, stating, "This lawsuit is a blatant attempt to abuse the legal process to punish a critic."Electronic Frontier Foundation (June 21, 2012). EFF Will Represent The Oatmeal Creator in Fight Against Bizarre Lawsuit Targeting Critical Online Speech.

Lawyer Rebecca E. Hoffman of Bloomberg BNA said Carreon's case could "only be described as frivolity on top of frivolousness" (referring to the concept of frivolous litigation).Hoffman, Rebecca E. (June 28, 2012). He let the world know about some infringement and now he's getting sued for raising $200K for charity. Wait, what? Bloomberg BNA On June 25, Carreon amended his lawsuit against Inman and the other defendants to include Kamala Harris, the state Attorney General of California. Carreon also requested a temporary restraining order to stop disbursement of the donations.Farivar, Cyrus (July 1, 2012). FunnyJunk lawyer aims to halt distribution of "BearLove" money. Ars Technica Carreon filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in his suit against all parties on July 3.Electronic Frontier Foundation (July 3, 2012). Charles Carreon Drops Bogus Lawsuit Against The Oatmeal Creator.Vaugh, Alexa (July 3, 2012). Lawsuit against The Oatmeal comic dropped. Seattle Times In July 2012, Carreon founded the website rapeutation.com and released a music video which mocks Inman. Carreon also alleges that online commentary about him constitutes a "distributed internet reputation attack". Mashable named Carreon's case first among their list of "silliest tech lawsuits ever",McClelland, Jo (July 12, 2012). Top 9 Silliest Tech Lawsuits Ever. Mashable and InfoWorld's Robert X. Cringely wrote that Carreon's actions made him "Internet Enemy No. 1".Cringely, Robert X. (July 13, 2012). FunnyJunk vs. Internet: The good guys won. InfoWorld

Carreon also indicated his interest in finding and then suing the owner of satirical site charles-carreon.com, leading Public Citizen to seek a federal declaratory judgment to protect the satirical site's owner.Farivar, Cyrus (July 3, 2012). Former allies turn on Carreon, sue to halt his threats. Ars Technica

In April 2013, Carreon effectively lost the battle and was ordered to pay $46,100.25 (USD) in legal fees.Masnick, Mike (April 11, 2013). Charles Carreon Has To Pay $46K In Legal Fees. Techdirt

In September 2013, Carreon dropped his final appeal in the case, saying, "it was a dumb thing" and "I made it worse".Farivar, Cyrus (September 19, 2013). Charles Carreon finally quits fighting, calls Oatmeal battle “a dumb thing” Ars Technica

References

External links

Charles Carreon profile via Martindale.com Charles Hernan Carreon - #127139 via The State Bar of California