Learn from the mistakes of others

Defamation

The purpose of defamation law is to protect people’s reputations from false or malicious statements. Historically, defamation came in two kinds: spoken slander and written libel. The distinction is largely unimportant, the key thing to remember is that anything you say or write to someone about another person that could be construed as bringing that person into disrepute, contempt or ridicule could be defamatory.

It is not defamatory to say it to the person in question. Defamation can only occur if a third person hears or reads it. Any third person. It doesn’t have to be published or broadcast to be ‘actionable’. There are three defences available: if what you say or write is true, if it is clearly opinion, or if you have a duty to communicate the information.

In short: be careful what and how you say or write about anyone or their products or work. Stick to making statement of fact, such as “Product X does not offer feature Y, but ours does!” – and check your facts first. If you have to criticise, write to the person directly first. Also, checking with a lawyer can save a lot of grief. Newspapers and Television stations do

And keep copies of everything!

Brian Martin, “Defamation law and free speech” <http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/defamation.html>