---
title: "Capture the publication with URL, time, audience and copies"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/capture-the-publication-with-url-time-audience-and-copies/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A33-A20260923-1-US"
practice_area: "Defamation & Media Law"
tier: "green"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Capture the publication with URL, time, audience and copies

> Fill a fixed log with the URL, capture time, publisher, visible audience cues and the copies the lawyer has saved. Add no statement about falsity or fault.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/capture-the-publication-with-url-time-audience-and-copies/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Defamation & Media Law](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law.md) |
| Human involvement | Green: AI drafts, lawyer checks |
| How AI is used | Fill a fixed log with the URL, capture time, publisher, visible audience cues and the copies the lawyer has saved. Add no statement about falsity or fault. |
| What the lawyer must review | You confirm the capture is the publication complained of and that the copy is complete. California Civil Code § 45 defines libel as a false and unprivileged publication by writing, printing, picture, effigy or other fixed representation to the eye. What counts as publication, and the limitation period, are state law. The log is the record. It is not the complaint. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Capture the publication with URL, time, audience and copies](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/capture-the-publication-with-url-time-audience-and-copies.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Fill a fixed log with the URL, capture time, publisher, visible audience cues and the copies the lawyer has saved. Add no statement about falsity or fault.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Save the copy yourself. A later edit to the page will not be in the log unless you capture it.
- Section 45 is California. Other states define defamation differently, and some still distinguish libel and slander.

## Sources

- [California Civil Code § 45 (libel defined)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=45) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [California Code of Civil Procedure § 340 (one-year limit, including libel and slander)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP&sectionNum=340) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Preservation letter to a publisher](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/us-publication-preservation-letter.md) | Letter | Yellow | A request that a publisher or host keep the publication, drafts, and logs. It is notice that a claim is contemplated.… |
| [Defamation claim assessment checklist for an aggrieved person: publication capture, serious harm, limitation and concerns notice timing](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/defamation-claim-assessment-limitation-checklist.md) | Checklist | Yellow | First-instruction checklist for a person who says they have been defamed: capture and first-publication date, standing of a corporation, serious harm evidence, likely defences, the 1-year limitation… |
| [Publication capture worksheet](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/us-publication-capture-worksheet.md) | Checklist | Yellow | A worksheet for recording a publication before a correction demand: the words, the URL, the time, and who could see it. It does not decide what the statements mean. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*