APPENDIX E

A Comic Creator’s Guide to Libel and Defamation

DEFAMATION DEFINED

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There are two forms of defamation, slander and libel. Slander is the spoken form of defamation, and libel is a written, drawn, televised, or otherwise recorded form.

To be able to sue for defamation, the following elements must be present:

A false and defamatory statement concerning another.

An unprivileged publication of that statement to a third party.

Fault amounting to at least negligence on the part of the publisher (fault amounting to “actual malice” in the case of a public figure). (See Appendix E: Public Figures, p. 392.)

Harm caused by the publication, ...

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