Libel limitation in Texas applies to the internet too

As reported by SiliconValley.com, an important ruling giving online publications the same protection as traditional print publications:

A one-year statute of limitations for bringing libel lawsuits in Texas also applies to articles posted on the Internet, a federal judge has ruled.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge David Godbey is being hailed as an important decision that gives online media the same protections as traditional print and broadcast organizations.

Godbey ruled Monday that the one-year clock begins ticking when an article first appears on the Internet and ends a year later, even if the article in question remains available for reading on the Internet.

It's the second time a federal judge recently determined that the Texas libel limits also apply to Internet-based media.

A lawyer for Belo Corp., a defendant in the case, praised the decision as a critical step for online media.

``The ruling is important because it allows Internet publishers -- not limited to newspapers -- to engage in the free exchange of ideas without being exposed to defamation claims based on articles viewable in the present but first posted to the Internet years earlier,'' said Russell Coleman, a Belo lawyer.

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