Re: Libel threat arising from Amazon book review



I recently posted a book review on Amazon.co.uk in connection with a
lottery system book which, as I stated in the review, was a scam and a
fraud. I repeated my statement in the book's discussion forum on the
main Amazon.com website. After a few hours, the author posted a
message on this forum stating that he had read my review of his book
and was going to take legal action against me. No warning was given,
just a terse threat. I then deleted both the review and the offending
statement on the discussion forum.

Can the author still sue me?

Yes.

Do I have any defence on the basis of my
right to freedom of speech, as defined in European human rights
legislation?

No.

Your only defence would be that what you posted was true.

Removing it as soon as he notified you of his objection will be
mitigation, and could reduce the damages if you lose, but will make no
difference whatsoever to whether he has a case or not.

could the OP have protected himself against any possibility of being
successfully sued by prefixing any potentially libellous comments with "i
think" or "in my opinion" ? he would then be making a factually correct
statement - or would the onus still be on him to prove he had valid reason
to 'think' or be 'of the opinion' that the other guy was a 'fraud' or
'scammer' ?
andy


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Libel threat arising from Amazon book review
    ... I repeated my statement in the book's discussion forum on the ... message on this forum stating that he had read my review of his book ... right to freedom of speech, as defined in European human rights ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Libel threat arising from Amazon book review
    ... fraud. ... I repeated my statement in the book's discussion forum on the ... message on this forum stating that he had read my review of his book ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Libel threat arising from Amazon book review
    ... I repeated my statement in the book's discussion forum on the ... message on this forum stating that he had read my review of his book ... A lottery draw is governed by the physical rules of entropy. ... I'd say your statement about his system being nothing more than a fraud is ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Libel threat arising from Amazon book review
    ... fraud. ... I repeated my statement in the book's discussion forum on the ... message on this forum stating that he had read my review of his book ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Libel threat arising from Amazon book review
    ... I repeated my statement in the book's discussion forum on the ... message on this forum stating that he had read my review of his book ... A lottery draw is governed by the physical rules of entropy. ...
    (uk.legal)