|
|
Reputation - Can a company sue for defamation |
The laws on defamation have changed but small companies and charities still have some recourse if they consider matter published about them is defamatory. |
New laws introduced across Australia in early 2006 limit action by corporations on the publication of defamatory matter unless they are excluded corporations at the time of publication. Excluded corporations are non-public bodies which either employ less than ten people and are unrelated to another corporation, or were not formed to obtain financial gain for their members or corporations. |
The primary means by which defamation law protects and vindicates reputation is by the award of compensatory damages commensurate to the harm suffered. A corporate plaintiff cannot claim for injury to feelings or standing in the community and should, if possible, tender evidence to prove actual financial loss. However, while the reality is that harm to a corporation's reputation will ordinarily cause harm to business, the causal link may be difficult to prove. |
The courts can declare a matter is defamatory but there will be little incentive to seek this as an alternative to damages as there is no power to require publication of the order. |
And while the primary objective of a corporation may be to prevent or limit publication of the material causing concern, this will only be granted in very clear cases because of its interference with the right to freedom of speech. |
The new laws do not apply to situations prior to 2006. |
