Previous 54 / 54 Next

-54- Mr Michael Thomas SC and Mr Lawrence Ng instructed by Iu, Lai & Li for the Appellants Mr John Reading SC and Ms Elizabeth Herbert instructed by Oldham, Li & Nie for the Respondents Press Summary (English) Press Summary (Chinese)

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

Oriental Press Group Ltd v Fevaworks Solutions Ltd

Case Law

Country

Hong Kong

Country Location

Latitude: 22.3964

Longitude: 114.1095

Country Location (linked Case Law): Hong Kong

Decision Date: Jul 4, 2013

Case Status: Closed

Case Outcome (Procedural)

Dismissed

Keywords

Defamation

Judicial Body: Supreme Court (court of final appeal)

Court Name: Court of Final Appeal

Case Number: FACV 15/2012

Case Summary: The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal held that an internet service provider is entitled to rely on the defence of innocent dissemination when faced with a defamation claim relating to statements posted on a discussion forum. Two newspapers had sued the host of a popular Hong Kong discussion forum after a series of defamatory posts were made on the forum. The Court held that the defence of innocent dissemination was available to the service provider because it was not the first or main publisher of the defamatory statements. The Court noted that the service provider had had no knowledge of the content of the posts until it was alerted to them and that, given the high number of posts on the forum, it could not realistically have been expected to have monitored and controlled all posts. As the service provider had removed the posts soon after it became aware of them the Court held that the service provider had acted with reasonable care and that it was therefore absolved of liability under the defence of innocent dissemination.

Case Significance: The decision establishes a binding or persuasive precedent within its jurisdiction.

Source URL: Legal Reference System

Notes: Case summary source: https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/oriental-press-group-ltd-v-fevaworks-solutions-ltd/

Primary Documents

FACV000015_2012.pdf
English
Download View

CYRILLA: Global Digital Rights Law

Select target paragraph3

Oriental Press Group Ltd v Fevaworks Solutions Ltd

Primary Documents

Notifications