Australia allows high profile internet defamation case
An Australian businessman has won the right to launch a defamation lawsuit in Australia over an internet article published in the US.
The High Court of Australia unanimously dismissed an appeal by international news service Dow Jones.
They had asked the court to stop a defamation case in Australia brought by mining magnate Joseph Gutnick.
Mr Gutnick claims a 7,000-word article that appeared in Barron's online defamed him by portraying him as a fraudster.
The decision means Mr Gutnick can sue New York-based Dow Jones in his home state of Victoria.
The ruling made no decision on the defamation case itself. Mr Gutnick will have to pursue that in the Victorian Supreme Court.
But Dow Jones claims the decisions could have a significant impact on freedom of speech.
Its lawyers argued that setting a precedent of this kind could make anything published on the internet subject to legal action in scores of nations.
Mr Gutnick has said the case should be heard in his hometown because people were able to read the article where he is best known.
