One of the most celebrated aspects of Amazon is the now hallowed feature of the customer review. In a case that could be a landmark in terms of defamation law, especially as applied to the Internet, Alexander Vassiliev says that John Lowenthal's customer review libels his book; he is seeking damages from Amazon. Nikki Tait from the FT has a detailed report.
Keen readers will notice that the case illustrates one of the trickiest aspects of meatspace laws as applied to the Internet: the libel case is being heard initially in London, since Lowenthal is based in the UK. Amazon put the content up on their US servers, however, so US laws might be invoked. And as to the geographical footprint on the review, well, anyone in the world with access to the Internet might have read it. The Babu loves the way cyberspace gets the system all tied up in knots.