A writer's guide to defamation law

Attorney Helen Sedwick surveys the landscape of libel law in the U.S. and provides some practical advice for writers who want to avoid its hazards. For example, she discusses the line between libelous and merely false: "Portraying someone as a jerk of a boyfriend, or an insulting mother-in-law, or an obnoxious boss is not defamation. The statement must 'tend to bring the subject into public hatred, ridicule, contempt, or negatively affect its business or occupation.'"

August 31, 2015

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