The phrase 'found guilty' in a defamatory publication will be understood by the ordinary reasonable reader as conveying a finding of guilt by a court following a criminal trial, not merely a moral or colloquial judgment. Descriptive terms such as 'snake catcher', 'reptile parties' and 'canine snake avoidance' used in online advertising to describe the nature of services provided are not used 'as a trade mark' within the meaning of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) and do not infringe registered trade marks containing those terms. In assessing defamation damages including the grapevine effect, the court must consider whether the plaintiff's own conduct contributed to the dissemination of the defamatory material or damage to their reputation. A defamation publication on social media that does not name the plaintiff and refers generically to 'imitators' may not identify the plaintiff unless extrinsic facts known to the ordinary reasonable reader would lead them to understand the publication as referring to the plaintiff.
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