[Infowarrior] - EFF Representing Oatmeal Creator in Fight Against Bizarre Lawsuit

[Richard Forno]

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 21, 2012

Contact:

Corynne McSherry
 Intellectual Property Director
 Electronic Frontier Foundation
 corynne at eff.org
 +1 415 436-9333 x122

Kurt Opsahl
 Senior Staff Attorney
 Electronic Frontier Foundation
 kurt at eff.org
 +1 415 436-9333 x106

EFF Will Represent The Oatmeal Creator in Fight Against
Bizarre Lawsuit Targeting Critical Online Speech

Baseless Suit Claims Online Trademark Infringement and
'Cyber-Vandalism'

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is
joining with attorney Venkat Balasubramani of the law firm
Focal PLLC to represent The Oatmeal creator Matthew Inman
in a bizarre lawsuit targeting the online comic strip's
fundraising campaign in support of the American Cancer
Society and the National Wildlife Federation.

"I have a right to express my opinion, whether Mr. Carreon
likes it or not," said Inman.  "While the lawsuit may be
silly, the harm it can do is very real."

Inman started his campaign last week as part of a protest
over legal threats he received from the website FunnyJunk.
In 2011, Inman published a blogpost noting that FunnyJunk
had posted many of his comics without crediting or linking
back to The Oatmeal.  A year later, FunnyJunk claimed the
post was defamatory and demanded $20,000 in damages.  Inman
crafted a unique response, which included some comic art.
Instead of paying the baseless demand, Inman asked for
donations for the American Cancer Society and the National
Wildlife Federation.  The campaign raised more than
$200,000 so far.

An attorney for FunnyJunk, Charles Carreon, has now
responded with a lawsuit filed on his own behalf.
Carreon's suit names Inman, the two charities, and the
online fundraising platform IndieGoGo, claiming trademark
infringement and incitement to "cyber-vandalism."

"This lawsuit is a blatant attempt to abuse the legal
process to punish a critic," said EFF Intellectual Property
Director Corynne McSherry.  "We're very glad to help Mr.
Inman fight back."

For this release:
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-will-represent-oatmeal-creator-fight-against-bizarre-lawsuit-targeting-critical

About EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading
organization protecting civil liberties in the digital
world. Founded in 1990, we defend free speech online, fight
illegal surveillance, promote the rights of digital
innovators, and work to ensure that the rights and freedoms
we enjoy are enhanced, rather than eroded, as our use of
technology grows. EFF is a member-supported organization.
Find out more at https://www.eff.org.


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