2005 June 7

Janssen-Ortho Inc. v. Amgen Canada Inc., [2005] O.J. No. 2265

The Ontario Court of Appeal held that an Internet broadcast by a radio station which also published the allegedly defamatory expression over ordinary radio waves is a “broadcast” within the meaning of the Ontario Libel and Slander Act.

The Court of Appeal also held that because the radio waves were broadcast by a radio station within Ontario, it was a logical inference that the Internet broadcast was also in Ontario, thereby satisfying another element of the statutory definition. In the circumstances, because the plaintiff had not given the requisite notice of intended action within the time limited by the statute, the plaintiff’s defamation claims relating to the radio wave and Internet “broadcasts” were struck out.