Comments on: Removal of Usmanov Article http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2007/09/07/removal-of-usmanov-article/ Exploring football culture around the world. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:25:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Pitch Invasion · David Conn on Investigative Journalism in Football http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2007/09/07/removal-of-usmanov-article/#comment-1774 Pitch Invasion · David Conn on Investigative Journalism in Football Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:30:13 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/2007/09/07/removal-of-usmanov-article/#comment-1774 [...] the Uzbeki billionaire’s PR lines at face-value. It was only when this site, and others, received bullying legal threats from Usmanov’s lawyers, Schillings of London, that the football media woke up to the story [...] [...] the Uzbeki billionaire’s PR lines at face-value. It was only when this site, and others, received bullying legal threats from Usmanov’s lawyers, Schillings of London, that the football media woke up to the story [...]

]]> By: EdTheRed http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2007/09/07/removal-of-usmanov-article/#comment-384 EdTheRed Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:11:38 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/2007/09/07/removal-of-usmanov-article/#comment-384 UK libel laws are much more stringent than US libel laws (that is, they favor the person who claims to have been libeled, whereas US law favors the publisher of alleged libelous comments, especially if that someone is a public figure, like Mr. Usmanov)...so if there's any nexus with the UK (that is, any chance they could sue you there, instead of in the US), you're stuck with the sad reality of having to pull the article. If it's a US issue (here the truth is an iron-clad defense to libel suits), then it's a lot easier to tell someone to go stuff it. Of course, when that someone has billions to spend on attorneys fees, the sad truth is that it's easy for them to intimidate you into self-censorship. You should note that Tom Cruise has successfully sued tabloids in the UK for libel, but not in the US...for similar legal reasons, the DaVinci code plagiarism case was brought in the UK, not the US, where it would have been laughed out of court before even making it to trial (in the UK, it made it through trial before being laughed out of court). UK libel laws are much more stringent than US libel laws (that is, they favor the person who claims to have been libeled, whereas US law favors the publisher of alleged libelous comments, especially if that someone is a public figure, like Mr. Usmanov)…so if there’s any nexus with the UK (that is, any chance they could sue you there, instead of in the US), you’re stuck with the sad reality of having to pull the article. If it’s a US issue (here the truth is an iron-clad defense to libel suits), then it’s a lot easier to tell someone to go stuff it. Of course, when that someone has billions to spend on attorneys fees, the sad truth is that it’s easy for them to intimidate you into self-censorship.

You should note that Tom Cruise has successfully sued tabloids in the UK for libel, but not in the US…for similar legal reasons, the DaVinci code plagiarism case was brought in the UK, not the US, where it would have been laughed out of court before even making it to trial (in the UK, it made it through trial before being laughed out of court).

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