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Wait. This is a libel lawsuit in the U.S., which means that they're suing because someone said something about them which is false. They then also want the le
by gecko 17y ago
Wait. This is a libel lawsuit in the U.S., which means that they're suing because someone said something about them which is false. They then also want the legal contract that started this whole thing taken down because they own the copyright on it.
Either this is atrociously bad reporting, or the judge is an idiot. Even though we're talking about New Jersey here, I'll put my weight on the first.
- tel 17y agoLibel doesn't have to be false, just damaging.
- mschy 17y agoI'm pretty sure that in the US, it not only has to be false, but the person making the statement must have either known it to be false, or shown negligence in not verifying the veracity of the statement.
- btilly 17y agoThat's right. However this varies by country. The extreme example being England, where the truth of the statement doesn't matter. Libel lawsuits in England are similar to patent lawsuits in Texas - you know that the venue was chosen mainly because the person filing the suit wanted the friendliest court possible.
- rbanffy 17y agoI am ashamed to say that here in Brazil the situation is very similar. It is very easy to bring litigation upon someone who said something someone else doesn't find appropriate and to go as far as censoring the information. There is currently one major newspaper that is under censorship that prevents it from reporting on a corrupt former president who is currently serving as a senator and his family. The freedom of speech devices in the Constitution prohibit anonymity, rendering themselves ineffective.
- lmkg 17y agoIANAL, and libel laws vary from state to state, but in the United States if something is true, it's not libel. However, not being true isn't necessarily the same as being false. Or, more specifically, not being provably true is not the same as being provably not true. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_defamation_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_defamation_law "...the truth should be an absolute defense against libel charges." "Also, the truth of the allegedly defamatory statement will always negate the claim (whether because the plaintiff fails to meet his/her burden of proving falsity or because the defendant proves the statement to be true)." The second quote implies a burden of proof upon the plaintiff to prove the statements false, although the main wikipedia article on defamation also mentions publishing with reckless disregard for verifying the veracity. Dunno if that second category applies in the US.
- tel 17y agoI stand corrected. Obviously, also IANAL.