APPENDIX E
A Comic Creator’s Guide to Libel and Defamation
DEFAMATION DEFINED
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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