The main defense in a defamation case is “truth” but there are other defenses such as privilege, which covers statements in a courtroom among other limited exceptions, “opinion”, which means the statement was not one of truth but a personal view and “fair comment on a matter of public interest”, which deals primarily with ones views on a public matter. Note: Not all defenses are recognized in all locations. Share and Enjoy:

Slander is spoken defamation and libel is defamation that has been printed or is otherwise fixed. Share and Enjoy:

If a fact is of public concern, meaning that reasonable members of the community could entertain a legitimate interest in it, then the publication of private material is generally acceptable. However, it is important to ensure that the fact itself is pertinent to the story itself. Share and Enjoy:

The four different privacy torts are appropriation, meaning the use of ones name or likeness for commercial gain without permission, intrusion, which is an invasion of one’s private space, public disclosure of private facts, and false light, which is similar to defamation but not necessarily wholly defamatory. Share and Enjoy:

According to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, sites that are operated within the U.S. are required to remove works alleged to be infringing by copyright holders so long as the copyright holder provides a full and complete DMCA notice. Failure to do so may result in the host being held liable for the infringement. Share and Enjoy:

The four fair use factors are the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. Share and Enjoy:

The current copyright term, for works created since 1978, is the life of the author plus 70 years for works of personal authorship and 95 years for works of corporate authorship. Share and Enjoy:

Though registering with the USCO does not add any additional rights, it creates a public record of your work, enables you to sue for infringement and serves as prima facie evdience in the event of a court case. Furthermore, if you register before an infringement or within three months of publication, you can claim statutory damages. Share and Enjoy:

A work is considered protected when it is fixed into a tangible medium of expression. Though the use of the © symbol was a previous requirement of copyright ownership, it is no longer necessary for a work to be considered copyrighted. Share and Enjoy:

Copyright includes the right to copy, distribute, prepare derivative works and perform/display works publicly (including via recording). Share and Enjoy: