Duchess of Sussex won the copyright claim for printing some sections of the letter she had sent to her father by a British tabloid.
First, Markle sued Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, in 2019 for publishing extracts of the “private and confidential” letter to her father, Thomas Markle, in five articles published both in print and online said New Idea.
As per Express, during the remote hearing at High Court in London, the Duchess has been settled rapid decision to the unsettled parts of her copyright claim.
She has won the case against the Mail on Sunday without any trial. Judge Mark Warby had said the issue of who owned the copyright to the letter still needed to be decided.
Co-authored by Jason Knauf, former communications secretary to the Sussexes claimed that the copyrights of the letter belonged to the crown.
Now, Jason has shorn of being a co-author, and “the Keeper of the Privy Purse acting on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen … did not consider the Crown to be the copyright owner (whether in part or sole) of the Electronic Draft”.
Representing Meghan, Ian Mill, QC, told the court: “This unequivocal statement of Mr. Knauf’s position also gives the lie to the defendant’s inferential case, in its defense to both the privacy and copyright claims, that the claimant considered using the letter ‘as part of a media strategy.”
The judge gave a final judgment in Meghan’s favor that didn’t require any trial.
The publication was also ordered to pay 90 percent of the costs incurred by Meghan for the Summary Judgement Application in her legal battle after a judgment was ruled in early March. Now, the court has ordered Mail on Sunday to pay the remaining 10% to Markle.