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Defamation Law allows you to safeguard your own reputation as well as that of your business by providing monetary compensation to deter would-be slanderers.
Competent Defamation Lawyers in NSW
What is defamation?
When someone publishes material that harms another person or entity’s reputation, he or she has committed defamation. How the material was published is insignificant. All that’s required is that the material was communicated in a way that made it easily understood by another person. Accordingly, material published on social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Wechat, Weibo, and Snapchat would fit this definition.
At one time, defamation law made distinctions between written defamation or libel and verbal defamation that was referred to as slander. Now both are considered equal, meaning you may take action whether defamatory material was published verbally or in written form.
The Defamation Act of 2005 governs defamation in NSW. In addition, uniform defamation laws become effective in Australia in 2006. As a result, defamation legislation is now mostly universal in all states and territories.
Can someone defame a business?
According to law, a business that is not considered a public body can be defamed if it falls into one of the following categories:
- The objects the corporation was formed with do not specifically include its members or corporators obtaining financial gain
- There are fewer than ten employees, and the corporation is not related to another. In counting employees, part-time workers are taken into account in order to calculate the number of full-time equivalent employees.
Corporations that do not fall into either of these categories have no cause for a defamation lawsuit.
What constitutes defamation? How do you prove it?
To successfully prove a defamation case, three very important elements must be proven.
#1. Publication
The cornerstone of any defamation lawsuit involved publication. This act occurs whenever someone publishes information of a questionable nature to one or more third parties. They involve comments made or published directly to another party or when someone else is present. They do not include derogatory comments that were made privately to your face. To be considered defamatory, the comments must have been published in such a way that another person would be able to comprehend them.
#2. Identifications
After receiving the comments or material, the other party must be capable of identifying you. This could be through indirect methods such as providing a nickname, initials, or other clearly-identifiable information. Comments or material that directly identify you meets this definition as well.
In determining whether or not identification has taken place, the courts will decide whether a reasonable person would understand who or what the material was referencing. If the answer is yes, you could have grounds for a defamation lawsuit.
#3. Meaning of Defamatory
Published material or comments should be defamatory in nature. When it comes to defamation, there is no firm guidelines that will determine whether or not certain comments qualify. Instead, defamation will be determined based upon the unique facts surrounding your case.
In determining liability, the courts will decide whether the published comments would be considered defamation by an “ordinary, reasonable, reader.” Some instances in which this may be likely include when publishing the content:
- Will expose the plaintiff to hatred, ridicule, or contempt
- May cause others to shun, shame, or avoid the subject
- Causes damage to the individual’s professional reputation by causing others to believe that person lacks the skill, knowledge, judgment, capacity, or efficiency to conduct his trade.
- Allows right-thinking members of society to view the person negatively
What is the timeframe for defamation lawsuits?
If you are the subject of defamation and wish to bring a lawsuit, you must take action against the publisher of defamatory material within 12 months of the comments being published.
For more information, visit Everything you Need to Know about Cease and Desist Letters.