District Court Rules Computer Programmer a Public Figure for Purposes of Defamation Suit

A federal judge has determined that a computer programmer who has spoken and written about QDOS, an early operating software system, is a limited purpose public figure for purposes of a defamation suit which he has filed against a publisher, and must demonstrate actual malice if he wishes to prevail in that suit. Since he is unlikely to be able to demonstrate actual malice, the judge dismissed the suit. The case is Paterson v. Little, Brown, W.D. Wash., No. C05-1719Z, 7/25/07). Here’s a link to the original complaint, and a link to the motion to dismiss. Groklaw has much more on this case here.