200661 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Entertainment Law, False Light, Moral Turpitude

• School: UWS
• Department: University of Western Sydney
• Course: 200661
• Professor: anonnymous

Document Summary

Defamation laws protect the reputations of individuals and other entities (such as businesses) from untrue and damaging statements. Libel refers to statements that can be seen (typically written and published), while slander occurs when a defamatory statement is spoken or otherwise audible (such as a radio broadcast). Note: in some cases, the plaintiff must prove special damages. Depending on the jurisdiction, some actions that don"t quite rise to the level of defamation may give rise to "false light" lawsuits. The main difference is that a false light claim doesn"t require the information to be false but rather highly offensive or misleading. The following is an overview of the elements of libel and slander. One essential element in any defamation action is that the defendant knowingly published something defamatory about the plaintiff. Courts have long struggled with the task of determining a standard for deciding whether a statement is defamatory.