Is it defamation to post about what a company is saying in it's official discord server?

B

B218

New Member
Jurisdiction
US Federal Law
Hello


I want to post screenshots of official conversations a company is javing with people on it's discord server, putting them on blast for a business decision that is

1) going against another company's ip contract

2) pissing off this company's community


The company in question hosts an image generator that lets one make custom magic the gathering cards for home use. The company has added an ai image generator as part of it's lineup of tools to use. Use of AI goes against Wizards of the Coast's rules for use of the mtg ip for unofficial use. As card makers, we
1: find an art piece
2: put it into the card generator of our choice
3: credit the artist in the section of the card where official cards credit the artist.
4: if the artist wishes to not have their art used, we take the card down or remake it with different art
The company is angering its community by creating an ai image generator and saying we are the bad guys and have no ethical leg to stand on. Is it defamation to post screenshots of the public discord (crossing out names minus the official company profile) onto sites like reddit and so forth, with captions explaining the situation around the screenshots?
 
B218 said:
I want to post screenshots of official conversations a company is javing with people on it's discord server, putting them on blast for a business decision that is

1) going against another company's ip contract

2) pissing off this company's community
Click to expand...

If you desire to defend yourself when served with a civil lawsuit for defamation, you're free to be as surly and stupid as you wish.

However, it is far wiser to ignore stupidity and stupid people, than to engage them.

Furthermore, stupid people rarely heed warnings from anyone. Stupid, illiterate, uninformed people operate in their own universe. Heck, many stupid people still believe the planet is flat, solar eclipses are deadly, and knowledge is to be feared.

Save yourself a passel of trouble, citizen, ignore stupidity and stupid people. What you're pondering is akin to "shooing flies off of decaying roadkill, or a pile of smelly, poop"!!!

Don't do errands reserved exclusively for fools. The fact you asked about what you're pondering indicates to me you're not a fool.
 
army judge said:
If you desire to defend yourself when served with a civil lawsuit for defamation, you're free to be as surly and stupid as you wish.

However, it is far wiser to ignore stupidity and stupid people, than to engage them.

Furthermore, stupid people rarely heed warnings from anyone. Stupid, illiterate, uninformed people operate in their own universe. Heck, many stupid people still believe the planet is flat, solar eclipses are deadly, and knowledge is to be feared.

Save yourself a passel of trouble, citizen, ignore stupidity and stupid people. What you're pondering is akin to "shooing flies off of decaying roadkill, or a pile of smelly, poop"!!!

Don't do errands reserved exclusively for fools. The fact you asked about what you're pondering indicates to me you're not a fool.
Click to expand...
Oh, cause I wanted the community around the custom magic cards to be aware of the issue, but I was worried it'd be bad to do so legally
 
B218 said:
The company is angering its community by creating an ai image generator and saying we are the bad guys and have no ethical leg to stand on. Is it defamation to post screenshots of the public discord (crossing out names minus the official company profile) onto sites like reddit and so forth, with captions explaining the situation around the screenshots?
Click to expand...

You listed the jurisdiction as federal law, but defamation claims are state law claims and each state's definition of what statements are defamatory may vary from one state to another. If you want to get information more specific to the state where the defamation claim would be brought, we need to know the state.

That said, a general definition is: a false statement of fact that tends to injure the reputation of a person referred to in it.

Thus at the outset you'd need to make sure anything you say in the discord is either true or is statement that contains no facts and instead is merely a statement of opinion to best guard against ending up with a judgment against you. If you repeat a defamatory statement that someon else told to you, both you and the person who communicated the statement to you may liable for defamation.

The target of the statements may sue you if it believes your statements were defamatory. As a defendant in a defamation case you're likely to have pay a lawyer by the hour for the work the lawyer does on the defamation matter. That can result in very high legal fees to pay if the case makes it past any motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment early in the case. The bottom line here is that when you say negative things about others you may get hit with a defamation lawsuit that will cost money to defend even if the plaintiff's claim is weak.

If you use any material that was not created by you you may have a problem with a copyright violation claim by the person who created the material or a person who has obtained the rights to they material you used. This means you might find yourself defending against a copyright claim post things on the discord server that are not your own original work.

I recommend you discuss what you want to post to Discord with an attorney who practices in the areas of copyright rights and defamation to help you minimize the legal risks.
 
Tax Counsel said:
You listed the jurisdiction as federal law, but defamation claims are state law claims and each state's definition of what statements are defamatory may vary from one state to another. If you want to get information more specific to the state where the defamation claim would be brought, we need to know the state.

That said, a general definition is: a false statement of fact that tends to injure the reputation of a person referred to in it.

Thus at the outset you'd need to make sure anything you say in the discord is either true or is statement that contains no facts and instead is merely a statement of opinion to best guard against ending up with a judgment against you. If you repeat a defamatory statement that someon else told to you, both you and the person who communicated the statement to you may liable for defamation.

The target of the statements may sue you if it believes your statements were defamatory. As a defendant in a defamation case you're likely to have pay a lawyer by the hour for the work the lawyer does on the defamation matter. That can result in very high legal fees to pay if the case makes it past any motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment early in the case. The bottom line here is that when you say negative things about others you may get hit with a defamation lawsuit that will cost money to defend even if the plaintiff's claim is weak.

If you use any material that was not created by you you may have a problem with a copyright violation claim by the person who created the material or a person who has obtained the rights to they material you used. This means you might find yourself defending against a copyright claim post things on the discord server that are not your own original work.

I recommend you discuss what you want to post to Discord with an attorney who practices in the areas of copyright rights and defamation to help you minimize the legal risks.
Click to expand...
I thought since this was most likely across multiple states it'd be federal. I'll see if I can get an attorney quickly
 
B218 said:
I thought since this was most likely across multiple states it'd be federal. I'll see if I can get an attorney quickly
Click to expand...

The three most common types of civil cases that may be brought in federal court are:

(1) The complaint or answer includes an issue of federal law;
(2) The United States, a federal agency, or a federal official in his/her official capacity is a party to the case; and/or
(3) The plaintiff is domiciled in a different state than the defendant and the claim at issue exceeds $75,000. This last one is known as diversity jurisdiction.

There is no federal law at issue in a defamation claim between two private citizens and the lawsuit between you and the company wouldn't involve any federal agency or federal agency official. That means in order to get into federal court in this circumstance there would have to be diversity jurisdiction.

However, the issue of what courts may hear the case is different from which state's law will be applied by the judge or jury in deciding the case.
 

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