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The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, won a legal battle over British tabloid, Mail on Sunday, which could serve as a precedent on privacy claims. The legal case had bordered on the violation of the privacy of the Duchess by the tabloid newspaper. Meghan instituted a lawsuit against the publishers of Mail on Sunday after they published excerpts from a letter that she had written to her dad in 2018.
Mark Warby, the British judge, gave judgment in her favor and ruled that by publishing the said letter, the privacy rights of Meghan had been violated.
The newspaper had defended itself against copyright violation when it claimed that Meghan was not a sole owner of copyright due to the involvement of others in creating the letter, a claim the judge roundly dismissed. Judge Warby ruled that as the author or co-author of the letter in question, Markle deserved compensation for copyright violations. He insisted that it had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant violated the copyright claims of the Duchess.
A hearing to determine other yet-to-be-resolved matters in the case has been fixed for March 2. According to feelers from the judge, the resolution of the copyright infringement claims will determine to a large extent the amount of compensation that will be awarded to the Duchess. On the other hand, the court is yet to resolve a third part of the case that looks into data privacy violations.
The Duchess reacted to Thursday’s decision by the judge and praised the courts for living up to their duty. She said she was grateful that both defendants in the case, the Associated Press and The Mail on Sunday, were finally held accountable for their conduct, People reports.
The Duchess recalled that the actions of The Mail and other publications were not new. She noted that, on the contrary, it had been recurring conduct from the tabloid that had long persisted. She said that at some point, there needed to be consequences for these actions that had ruined lives and damaged relationships.
Markle noted that what people were craving for was factual and quality news. She said that rather, Mail on Sunday chose to sell misinformation to the public, throwing decency and morality to the winds in their desperation to profit from the pain of others.
Duchess Markle said this legal victory had set the right precedent that newspapers and other news publications will be held accountable for their actions if they choose to infringe on the privacy of people. She noted that it was a deserved victory, and justice has been served on the matter.
She thanked her family and friends, especially her legal team that had shown care and support all through the entire process.
Mail on Sunday reacted to the court judgment, saying they were surprised by the judge’s ruling. The tabloid said it was disappointing that they were not given a chance to lay their evidence before the courts. The Mail said it will decide its next course of action after studying the judgment.
Source: washingtonpost.com
