Hey, I am thinking about opening a site that is saying basically why i think a certain celebrity is a {expletive}. Am i allowed to do this or is it just plain illegal and i will get sued? I thought of it after seeing paypalsucks.com. thanks
You would set yourself up for serious trouble if you did that. Even if they could not sue you for "character assassination" or whatever, they could sue you for using their name, personality, and image. ~Adam
I wouldn't dare do it. Technically, most fan sites or illegal - they are using copyrighted images, videos, etc. and many are using a person's image for profit without permission. But, who is going to sue their fan site?
No, they are usually copyrighted by who took the pictures. Often times the pictures are owned by the artist, their agent, record label, etc.
Theres nothing wrong with writing your own personal opinion about someone you know, thats if you know the celeb, however slandering someone is illegal even if done for fun. Also there is the copyright aspect as well to think about.
lol I would definately agree with you there. Just create a blog and post your thoughts on celebrities, make a disclaimer that they are your own personal opinion and should not be taken as truth of factual, then you may well cover yourself.
It depends on what country you are from and operating in. In the US it is more difficult to prove libel than in many other places. In the US, if your statement is true, or is clearly a matter of opinion ("Dave is a jerk"), then it is always allowed. In the case of a public figure, then not only must the statement be false in order to constitute libel, but it must also be malicious. Because of the high threshold for establishing libel, and the chance of bringing greater publicity to the statements in question, such cases are relatively uncommon in the US. Commonwealth countries (e.g., UK) tend to be tougher on this and it's much easier to run afoul of libel laws there. Politicians and other public figures in the UK, Australia, Singapore, etc., will initiate libel suits at the drop of a hat and often use them to squelch legitimate criticism.
Just a shame i'm in the UK then, I might just go for it but I will make sure that I say it is purely opinion.
You should look into the libel laws. Basically libel consists of writing untrue content about a person that damages their reputation. So if you stick to the facts you can't be sued (but you need to make sure your sources are rock-solid). If you spread rumors, gossip, or just plain lies, that's trouble.
You may get in trouble for libel/slander (I think slander is spoken, lible is written, so libel in this case). Libel is when you damage someones business or reputation.