We recently discussed how defamation from a competitor can harm your business. Certain statements could cause significant harm to your reputation, perhaps eroding your customer base and costing you sales. You may even see this as a form of fraud if the other party is simply trying to influence your customers to shop at their business – and they are using defamation as a tactic to do so.
If you are considering taking legal action, one important thing to note is that there are two different types of defamation: libel and slander. How are these similar, and how are they different?
Written or oral statements
These are similar because they are both forms of defamation, where someone is knowingly making false statements about you or your company. The difference lies in how those statements are made. A written statement counts as libel, while a spoken statement counts as slander.
This distinction has become more complicated over the years. Is something written on social media considered a written statement or something that a person “said”?
Fortunately, this issue has been addressed, and it actually started with radio broadcasts. What the courts essentially determined was that libel is something that is relatively permanent. This could include a spoken statement during a podcast or a recorded radio broadcast. It could also involve a written statement or a video posted to social media. If something is not permanent, then it counts as slander because it is just something that people are saying in the moment, rather than recorded statements that could be broadcast to a much wider audience.
Either type of defamation can cause significant harm to your business, so take the time to look into all of your legal options.
