GLOSSARY
Publication definition
What does Publication mean?
The requirement in defamation claims for the claimant to show that a defamatory statement has been communicated by the defendant to at least one other person than the parties themselves. As a result of the repetition rule, each time a defamatory statement is repeated, it is 'published' all over again and gives rise to a fresh cause of action; hence there is no defence to a defamation claim by claiming that the defendant was merely repeating a statement which he had heard or received from a third party.
The Defamation Act 2013 contains provision for a new 'single publication rule' which states that any publication of substantially the same material by the same publisher will not allow for a new claim to be made after the expiry of the one-year limitation period from the date of first publication. Anyone involved in the publication of a defamatory statement may theoretically be sued, however the position is more complicated in relation to 'secondary publishers' or intermediaries who do not exercise a primary publisher's editorial control over publishing the statement or content but merely
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