從美國法『公眾人物理論』論我國民事侵害名譽權法之『公眾人物概念』

”The public figure concept” was originally developed in ”the Public Figure Doctrine” in the American law of defamation. Arising out of the need to protect freedom of speech, ”the public figure concept” has been developed in Taiwanese Civil Defamation Law. Since the United States and Taiwan have different legal and cultural backgrounds in defining a public figure, it is important for Taiwanese Civil Defamation Law to see those differences and to develop its own ”public figure concept” suitable for Taiwanese law. To accomplish this goal, this paper will: analyze the ”public figure concept” in the United States and its related controversial issues to inspire the development of ”the Taiwanese public figure concept;” admit the value of ”the public figure concept” and provide ”four relationships” to identify this concept in advance; overcome the difficulties of determining who is a public figure under the defamation law in the United States and create ”the public figure categories” for Taiwanese Civil Defamation law; and evaluate ”the public figure concept” applied in Taiwanese civil defamation cases and reveal the flaws that arise when courts apply this concept in such cases. Through the explorations in this paper, it is expected that the development of ”the public figure concept” in Taiwanese defamation law will make greater progress and will provide a much clearer standard for courts to apply.