Corporate Defamation: Reputation, Rights and Remedies

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

6-2014

Abstract

This paper examines fundamental issues concerning a corporation's right to sue for defamatory attacks on its reputation, the scope of the right and the remedies available. It first outlines the opposed positions in England and Australia, respectively. It also argues that a corporation, save for a government corporation that exercises governmental functions based on markedly different rationales, should have the right to sue in defamation premised on the concept of corporate reputation as property and for the purpose of vindicating its reputation. On the question of remedies, a corporation should be entitled to recover special damages as reparation for damage to reputation provided they are proved. This paper considers, instead of presumed damages, alternative remedies for vindicating corporate reputation. Finally, it examines the business and non-business reputations of both trading and non-trading corporations in relation to claims for damages.

Discipline

Business Organizations Law

Publication

Legal Studies

Volume

33

Issue

2

First Page

264

Last Page

288

ISSN

1748-121X

Identifier

10.1111/j.1748-121X.2012.00258.x

Publisher

Butterworths

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