Mmmm, it seems that the message coming through from some is that the US approach to these things (slander is generally ok and hard to litigate) is a good thing, but personally I don't think it is. A balance is what is needed.

 

And perhaps it is possible to 'get away with slander' in the US but in almost every other arena of life, the US is the biggest litigation culture in the world. People suing eachother other left, right and centre (I spell it the British/Canadian/Australian way lol!)!

 

Anyway, I just don't think it's useful to make this a "my country is better than yours" argument. The debate is around the threat of action to this publication, by the airline, and whether it is justified.

I don't see anything about whose country in better just the difference in speech related laws. Maybe I'm reading a different thread.

Ahem.....You are not talking about the USA. Canada also have freedoms, and in many cases more freedoms then in the USA..

 

That website you just posted. www.untied.com was actually started by a Canadian University Professer Jeremy Cooperstock, from Mcgill University in Montreal, when he was faced with poor customer service from United, he is considered the first to create an internet complaint site when he was attending the University of Toronto back in 1997.

 

Listen to this for a moment:

http://www.cbc.ca/pl.../ID/2311623427/

 

He has recently been given notice by United Lawyers for the layout of that website. So this battle is being fought over US boarders and has been going on since 1997 but has mostly just amounted to threats from United Lawyers.

 

 

And of course everyone's favourite....United Breaks Guitars.

 

So it seams the Canadians are on the forefront of this battle and not the Americans and the Canadians are more creative about it. B)

 

Therefore the case of United vs Untied.com is actually a USA corporation vs a Canadian University Professor trying to make a difference. He is currently trying to raise a defence fund.

 

Cheers

 

There may be many countries that have press freedoms comparable to the US. But, since Aviation Herald solicits contributions in Euros, I assume that any filings for defamation will be somewhere in Europe.

 

The filing against untied.com is actually for copyright and trademark infringement. In all fairness to United, the logo in the upper left corner of this website is a modified version of United's logo and their complaint is probably a fair one. It is also being filed in Canada, not the US.

 

Needless to say, the website untied.com is much more defamatory than anything I see in the Aviation Herald and all of it is directed against a single airline.

the logo in the upper left corner of this website is a modified version of United's logo

 

Parody is fair use.

 

Hook

I don't see anything about whose country in better just the difference in speech related laws. Maybe I'm reading a different thread.

 

Agreed.

 

Scott

In the US, there isn't a lot of case law yet covering online comments. Here's an item about a judge's ruling in a defamation suit that just came down yesterday - it's causing some concern among advocates for freedom of the press and for consumer rights:

 

http://www.washingto...602c_story.html

 

And here's a very good video interview with a Washington Post justice reporter, who talks about some of the issues at stake and some of the ways you can protect yourself if you write online reviews.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/video/thefold/negative-yelp-review-leads-to-lawsuit/2012/12/06/36cd67a8-3fe6-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_video.html

 

The controversial issue in this particular case that the judge ruled the comments deleted before the case went to trial - that is, there's been no ruling yet on whether the posts are defamatory or not.

 

A lot of people will be watching to see how this one comes out.

There may be many countries that have press freedoms comparable to the US. But, since Aviation Herald solicits contributions in Euros, I assume that any filings for defamation will be somewhere in Europe.

 

True, and a different situation then Internet complaint sites, as been said it is the comments section that is at issue.

 

The filing against untied.com is actually for copyright and trademark infringement. In all fairness to United, the logo in the upper left corner of this website is a modified version of United's logo and their complaint is probably a fair one. It is also being filed in Canada, not the US.

 

We'll see what the Canadian courts have to say about it. It reminds me of the Model Railroad community having to use Onion Pacific instead of Union Pacific because that railroad took issue to using their logo on little models. LOL

 

But United has said they are not interested in taking down the site, just have issue with the way the site is laid out. Should be an interesting case.

 

Cheers eghansen and welcome to the forums.....We are a good bunch on here :drinks:

 

I don't see anything about whose country in better just the difference in speech related laws. Maybe I'm reading a different thread.

 

Very true....I can't tell too much difference between many countries I have lived. Most are quite civilized and have "Just Societies'. I don't honestly believe that any one country is better then another, there are just differences that make them unique.....Go All Blacks :zeland-flag:

FR seem to be chasing down every negative posting about themselves on the internet. Pathetic :rolleyes: