Dow Jones settles Internet defamation case

AN IMPORTANT internet libel case has extended the rule of Australian defamation law through-out the world.

Aussie mining boss Joe Gutnick was so miffed about an article published in October 2000 that he decided to sue Dow Jones who published it.

The article was printed in the traditional way and online. Dow Jones wanted the case heard in the US, where libel laws are a little more friendlier to the press. Australia has similar laws to the UK.

However, in December 2002, the High Court of Australia unanimously ruled that the case could be heard in Gutnick's home state of Victoria because people there could have read the article online.

It created a global precedent that could subject Internet publishers to lawsuits regardless of their geographical location.

On Friday, Dow Jones backed down and issued a statement in Victoria Supreme Court. µ