They would see if it goes to whether she had reasonable expectation that her letter would stay private." "If they can cross-examine her and them, they may be able to get to the purposes she sought their involvement and her intentions. "The (Mail on Sunday) is arguing that if she sought assistance of the (palace staffers) and they contributed to the letter, they might be joint authors and thus joint owners," says Amber Melville-Brown, head of the media and reputation practice at international law firm Withers, who has been closely following the Sussex battles with the media. Under British law (and American law), the authorship of a private letter belongs to the writer, not the recipient therefore, when Thomas Markle gave the Mail on Sunday a copy of her letter and the paper published excerpts, that was a violation of copyright law.īut if members of Meghan's former palace staff helped her write the letter, in part or substantially, that might lead to another hearing at which the Mail on Sunday could call Meghan, her father, her former staffers and her friends to testify, which would mean days of gossipy and embarrassing testimony to tease tabloid readers. Did Meghan write it all herself or did she get substantial help from her former palace press staff, and if so, why? More: It’s final: Harry and Meghan won’t return as working royalsĪnother outstanding issue involves the authorship of the letter. But losers in civil cases such as this have to first get permission from the ruling judge to appeal, and then go directly to a higher court if they are turned down. She also wanted all the stories about the letter to be removed from the paper's website.Īssociated Newspapers was surprised and disappointed by the ruling and suggested at the time it might appeal. Meghan also sought a front-page apology from the Mail on Sunday and a court order that the newspaper hand over any copies of the letter, and to destroy any electronic copies of it or any notes made about it. The judge set a hearing for October to take up the issue of copyright ownership. More: Will Harry and Meghan reveal 'shocking' royal secrets? What to expect from their Oprah interview The publisher hopes to call Meghan and those officials to be cross-examined about her intentions and who else might hold authorship. But Associated Newspapers contends that several palace officials helped Meghan write the letter. Under copyright law, the author of a private letter owns the copyright and thus her permission is needed in order to publish it. The hearing covered multiple issues in the aftermath of Meghan's victory in the case, including damages, legal fees and a still outstanding question about whether Meghan was the "sole" author of her letter to her father.
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