This Guy May Get Sued Over an Amazon Review

Sounds like they're hoping to scare him into backing down. Libel suits are insanely hard to prove and usually not worth the money.
 
This is an issue in the bodybuilding scene also. Look up the people that have been sued for saying a product tastes like crap.
 
I read some of the other reviews now and that was a completely terrible move on there part... Just, wow....
 
The guy messed up when he accused the company of authoring positive reviews and copying another product. You can critique something all you want. But once you start making allegations about unethical or criminal activity with no evidence to back it up, that's when the legal doors swing open.
 
HeavensCloud said:
This is an issue in the bodybuilding scene also. Look up the people that have been sued for saying a product tastes like crap.
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That's funny because how something tastes is 100% opinion.

After reading the news blip, I will try to remember & stay away from the Medialink brand.
 
Better not to leave reviews anymore unfortunately. Stopped reading those a good while back.

I can only see this getting worst and worst as personal online information keeps getting tied closer and closer to you. And companies like FB getting more and more deals to use their info...etc...
 
Well, the guy was going off on how the product's positive amazon reviews were fake and being left by the manufacturer, and that the manufacturer's product was a copy of another product (to be fair, it came out that it is, in fact, the same device just under a different brand and priced twice as much).

I think if it weren't for the accusations of leaving positive reviews, there's nothing they could have done. But without being able to read his original review, who knows what else he said that might have ticked them off.

I do think, however, that large monetary settlements in the terms of 'libel' or 'defamation' are absurd things that only emphasize how ridiculous the legal system in the US is. But you should still be very careful to not turn an online review into a vendetta letter. Make your review factual. Don't say anything you can't prove and don't waste your time talking about stuff that has nothing to do with your experience with the product.
 
"Companies, it turns out, have every right to sue people who write reviews on websites that they may feel are libelous or defamatory"

wow, what happened to voicing your opinion on a product...if a product sucks I should have the right to express my opinion that it sucks
 
I thought I read in one of the articles I saw on this story that the author of the review kept it up in the questions and comments section of his review. I am by no means a lawyer, but from what I have seen other laywers say, that opens him up to the libel claim.
 
Opinions are by definition not defamatory. In order for a statement to be defamatory it must contain false information represented as fact. Saying "this product tastes like doggie doo dragged through a trash fire, with an aroma of kerosene" is an opinion, and by definition, not defamatory. Saying "this company ripped off another company", if untrue, is defamation. If a statement is an opinion, or true, it is not defamatory. A lot of people think simply talking trash about someone is defamatory. It's not as long as the trash is true.
 
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polonyc2 said:
"Companies, it turns out, have every right to sue people who write reviews on websites that they may feel are libelous or defamatory"

wow, what happened to voicing your opinion on a product...if a product sucks I should have the right to express my opinion that it sucks
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Nothing, just don't make unsubstantiated claims about unethical behavior of the company. The company didn't go after the other people who left poor reviews, they went after the guy that accused them of falsifying reviews and information. The company then has to weigh the fallout from suing someone for such libel comments or just letting it go. A bad reputation can severely hurt a company's ability to sell their product and thus their livelihood. That is why libelous claims exist to try and prevent people from making wild, false accusations about a company specifically to damage their reputation.

In this case, I think the suit will backfire on Mediabridge as I believe they have opened themselves up to more criticism and bad publicity than what they are trying to protect, even if they had every right to sue the guy.
 
gangolfus said:
Opinions are by definition not defamatory. In order for a statement to be defamatory it must contain false information represented as fact.
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His original review is posted in the lawyer's letter in the first link above. He is doing exactly the definition of libel and defamation.

IMO the real problem here is that the company is too thin skinned. The negative publicity isn't worth going after some lying idiot who writes (2) bad reviews.
 
Yakk said:
Better not to leave reviews anymore unfortunately. Stopped reading those a good while back.
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They just aren't accurate or trustworthy anymore. I'd say at least 75% of the time that's the case. Most of the time people rant and rave about nonsense that has nothing to do the product itself, or people go off on a tangent about the UPS man as if the company is in control of that.

Then you have to always take into account most people reviewing those who had a negative experience or an overwhelming positive one. Few and far between are just people who will review every product they buy.
 
Problem with internet reviews is there are more people who come out to complain than to complement.
 
Some stuff you just have to let slide by. The risk of negative backlash can be way too high. By all means try to explain/apologise but don't threaten. You will get burnt.

We don't seem to hear much from Monster Cable these days...

One bad review out of a hundred gets ignored. It's like the reviews you see for hotels. The hotel has 99 100% positive "we loved it!" reviews and then you get the one negative which reads -

"We hated our stay there. The toilet paper was hung at the back of the roll and the scotch I ordered at the bar came with three ice cubes and not the usual four I have at home! We'll never stay there again!"

So you just ignore them as a crackpot.
 
pxc said:
His original review is posted in the lawyer's letter in the first link above. He is doing exactly the definition of libel and defamation.

IMO the real problem here is that the company is too thin skinned. The negative publicity isn't worth going after some lying idiot who writes (2) bad reviews.
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Lying idiot? I would be happy to have guys like him warn me about shit companies. If you had read some of the research of other guys, you would've seen that it's all true and they are faking the reviews and selling the same shitty device for double the price.

And even if he was lying, no proper company would handle the situation in this manner.
 
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