Sticks and stones may break bones, but defamatory words on the internet can break a brand. However, as internet tools become more sophisticated, businesses are more equipped to fight back and prove defamatory statements. In an article for The Intellectual Property Strategist, “Defamation Investigations: A Big Leap in Fighting Back,” Founding Principal Doug Bania explained what businesses facing online defamation should know when considering legal action.
Doug detailed various internet tools that can be used to valuate the actual impact defamation has on their business. “An effective online investigation is crucial to establishing a causal connection between the disparaging statements and financial harm, quantifying harm, and ultimately proving damages in court,” Doug wrote. He also explained that the economic impact of online defamation is typically measured in one or more ways: lost profits, corrective advertising and/or decrease in the value of the brand. Gathering data via online analytic tools and traditional damages analyses, can provide insights to support a damages conclusion and provide business owners new weapons in the battle to defend their brand value.
Read the full The Intellectual Property Strategist article here.