Defamation of character on the web, can I do it alone? -- Florida Law Online Forum

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Date Posted: 14:38:55 12/24/08 Wed
Author: John
Subject: Defamation of character on the web, can I do it alone?

I am not seeking legal advice. No advice given will be taken as legal advice. I am seeking procedural advice.

I understand that clothing cannot be copyrighted as it is a necessary article. But competitors often buy my pieces to steal my patterns. I have a 5,000 member mailing list. My competitors sign up for my mailing list to watch for new designs to steal. Several weeks ago I sent the following email out to my mailing list:

"NOT ALL DIY IS CREATED EQUAL

I've been designing and making clothing now for about six years. I can tell, from experience, that a lot of what's floating around under the keyword DIY is not worth your money. More importantly, if you're going to give a piece of clothing to a friend, you want it to be the best you can get for the price. If it's bad quality it makes YOU look bad, not the designer. As much as I'd love to bad mouth the "designers" making the inferior clothing - especially the ones who steal my patterns and verbiage, claim they've been around longer than they really have. But I can tell you exactly what makes my clothing a good choice:

1: I'm a trained pattern maker. Look at my photos. I know what needs to be done to make a piece fit. I make each piece from start to finish so I understand exactly what's going into it. Do you really want to buy something from someone who gets their patterns from Wal-Mart?

2: Not only am I a trained pattern maker, I have a degree in design. Some things you just can't learn from grandma or from trial and error. Why would you spend your money on a piece that was made by someone who is still learning? Think about all of the mistakes they could have made.

3: I've made clothing for some very big bands and their wives, including: Tori Amos, The Dresden Dolls, The Reverend Horton Heat, The Ramones, and more I can't even think of right now.

4: I don't hide behind a plastic mannequin or a generic "we" or "us" statement. Many of you know me personally, as Patricia. When something goes wrong I stand behind my work. I answer your emails, you can count on me to work things out. I'm proud to use my friends in my pictures because I'm proud of what I make and I'm proud of how you'll look."

END OF EMAIL.

One of my competitors took excerpts of the email and arranged them to make me sound like I was specifically attacking EVERY other designer in the marketplace. In doing so she mentions me by name in a very active public forum. Her posts generated 10 pages - over 120 posts about me. Her remarks include opinions which I understand are not defamatory. However, she makes a specific claims that my email attacks all other designers - which is not true. This misinformation caused over a dozen of my past customers to post that they will no longer buy from me. It also caused other reputable designers to stop endorsing my products. In essence it calls into question my professional character. I can document a decline in sales that coincides with these posts.

I would like to file a defamation suit. Do you think I have a case? Where can I get the forms to begin the process?

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