Harry & Meghan: Legal Actions against the Media

[DeeT]

Seems editorial teams at MoS don’t understand what breach of copyright means. Good thing they’re being sued so they can learn for next time. Simple to understand for most, except it seems for MoS; don’t copy & publish, if you don’t have proper permission.

[alvinking]

Originally Posted by Gawin

You're exactly right, this isn't a legal defense.

But I suspect the Mail plans to "strike back" by constantly airing all the dirty laundry about Meghan's relationship with her father. The "ungrateful daughter" narrative. Just more public harassment.

This narrative has already been debunked, and he has been proven a liar. Further I doubt Mr Markle will do anything stupid and partake in this public harassment if he hopes to meet Archie one day in his lifetime

[ACO]

Originally Posted by Rudolph

Looks like the MoS is striking back sort of speak.

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/statu...81518634172419

Using Thomas isn’t fighting back since he can’t keep up with his own lies. Also he not saying anything new. It’s predictable he would come out the woodworks. I’m sure Meghan fully expected it. Also nothing they just printed changes anything. They still printed her copyrighted letter.

Also Thomas totally admitted in this article that he removed “painful” pieces because it hurt too much. So they were all edited. And he says he tried calling Meghan in front of the MoS reporter. I mean is he trying to build her case?

[Humbugged]

Originally Posted by DeeT

Harry is joining other claimants, so there are other innocent people who’ve been affected too. Funny how all those ‘royal insiders’ & reporters who are asking ‘why now’, thought they claimed to know everything, even what the Queen is thinking. But didn’t know there are ongoing cases for unethical press behaviour, or is it that certain press are hiding info from the public?

Hopefully in the end, there’ll be much better Press Standards.

Prince Harry: tabloids hid hacking crimes for 20 years
Duke of Sussex joins case against Sun and Mirror in group action alleging documents were destroyed

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...hacking-crimes

Byline Investigates was first to reveal yesterday that Harry had filed hacking claims against News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers for allegedly misusing his private information.

It is understood that Morgan and Brooks will be named in part of the “generic” elements of the law suit, which are common to all claimants in the two set of managed group litigation, which is already moving through the High Court.

Prince Harry is not the only alleged victim suing The Sun and the Daily Mirror. Scores of other victims are already registered in the current wave of litigation. There are said to be hundreds, and probably thousands, more, claimants who could sue if they knew they had been targeted. Mirror Group and News Group have each settled hundreds of claims for tens of millions of pounds, with even more in legal fees.

[DeeT]

If there are possibly 100s or 1000s more claimants, then one would think the general public would not be happy about this, because even those that dislike the BRF could be victims. Also not a good look for companies advertising in papers like this.

[HereditaryPrincess]

Whilst I wonder if this will change the way the British media will do their reporting if the Sussexes win their case; I'm also wondering if the international media will also feel inclined/need to change their acts following a potential Sussex victory.

[Gawin]

Originally Posted by alvinking

This narrative has already been debunked, and he has been proven a liar. Further I doubt Mr Markle will do anything stupid and partake in this public harassment if he hopes to meet Archie one day in his lifetime

I sincerely hope you're right. But Thomas Markle seems a little naive and unable to consider the consequences of his actions.

[Purrs]

Originally Posted by Gawin

I sincerely hope you're right. But Thomas Markle seems a little naive and unable to consider the consequences of his actions.

That's true and sadly, he never seems to learn. He's now quoted in Daily Mail again today about the letter. He seems to always want to have the last word and lacks any insight into how his actions prevent repairing his relationship with his daughter.

I think Prince Harry is doing the right thing. No matter what he does/says, Meghan will be the subject of criticism. The phone hacking allegations apply to many other people and the British tabloid press has too long engaged in this illegal behaviour.

[Al_bina]

Originally Posted by victor1319

Sorry, but I forgot, what I wanted to say: If Harry wants to makes his monies IN the UK, he will have to find a good position towards the press, some kind of friendly agreement. Otherwise Archie and his possible offspring will be poor.

In the last generation Prince Andrew, who is comparable to Harry, including Helicopters and all, made some monies with kazakh oligarchs and so on - he was a trade representative....

And in the USA the press can be ugly too! Ask Mr. Trump...

Harry is too old, to revenge his mother or something.

Prince Harry did not mind using his uncle's Kazakh connections and enjoying a private skiing trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2014.

[LadyGlendower]

The phone hacking action won't go to trial until October 2020 according to one of the articles?
And what about the MoS action?

If this week is any indication, the coming year is going to be brutal for both sides. These lawsuits will be mentioned in most of the press coverage of the Sussexes both favorable and lukewarm/negative and I include Vanity Fair, Town & Country, People, TMZ (all US)----they won't be able to resist the click bait.

And Ingrid Seward, glad you noticed that in America suing folk is a bit of a national pastime.

[O-H Anglophile]

Originally Posted by US Royal Watcher

I've been following this with interest. I completely agree that Harry should have a cause of action against anyone who hacks into phone messages. Those are absolutely private and hacking is illegal.

On the other hand - although I am very sympathetic to Meghan with respect to the publication of the letter (which I haven't read) - I don't think she should be able to prevail in this case. Obviously, I don't know British law, but it seems to me that the letter belongs to Mr. Markle, and he shared it with the press. Yes, they are her words but, if Meghan wins, it would make it difficult to share the contents of letters they received during the statutory copyright protection. Taken to the extreme, I wouldn't be able to share a letter from a Minister without his or her permission. That doesn't seem right to my American sensibilities - again, I don't know British law.

The fact that I don't think Meghan should be able to prevail in court does not alter my view that the media should not have published the letter--and her father should not have shown it to them. There should be journalistic standards and integrity. The public really doesn't have a 'right' to know about Meghan's relationship with her family. Some people are interested, but no public interest is served by these types of disclosures.

Per British law--Meghan owns the words in the letter and only she or her estate can grant the right to publish the full letter, or most of the full letter.

[O-H Anglophile]

Could we have clarification from the mods re: Thomas Markle? Because there are a whole lot of posts about him since this post almost 12 hours ago--

Originally Posted by Jacknch

Indeed, let's keep the Markle's out of this thread since they have little to do with the topic of the thread or the Court case as far as we know. Thank you.

[Zaira]

If Harry has evidence which shows that the press hacked Diana's VMs, used that information in their reports and then AFTER death not only continued to hack her friends and families phones, but also covered their tracks by claiming she was in cahoots with them on all the "leaks" when she was alive then that is a fairly big story. I mean Diana no doubt leaked stories but if the press also got many, many stories from hacking her then covering it up...

It seems Harry's suit is part of a larger group of lawsuits being filed this fall on claims recently uncovered from a fairly large period of time on hacking and blagging.

It makes his reference to Diana in his statement even more salient. Basically, he is drawing a through line: despite the so-called reforms the media was forced to perform after Diana's death and post-Leveson, they largely have not done anything different and they are using the same underhanded tactics with Meghan that they did with Diana and 100s/1000s of other people. Hacking, blagging, making up sources or stories, etc. And not only that, many of those complicit or outright guilty are STILL in power (Piers Morgan, for example).

IDK what will happen. I am curious if there is a group litigation potential here which would be a very different ball-game and bolster Harry's claims even more. But Harry has every right to sue over the hacking and conspiracy claims and it sounds like the 'why now' question is a matter of more information being uncovered more recently as well as him wanting to finally correct some wrongs from the past. Some may call that petty, but what does it matter? Wrongs were done (allegedly), they should be addressed.

And as for the claims of "an attack on the free press," please. The tabloids are hardly the free press. By their own admission, their main goal is to entertain and to provoke, not to inform. What many refuse to see is that there is a difference between critique and abuse. Critiques are pointing out the hypocrisy of flying private when you care about climate change (it was still overblown). Abuse is posting constant and false stories about someone to gin up anger and incite violence which we've seen the tabs do with Meghan. They pull outlandish stories from the depths of tumblr and twitter (something i've only ever seen them do especially for POC targets), feed them to this crowd that deeply hates Meghan, that crowds responds with violent language or threats on comment sections, in social media or even attends her events with the goal of harm (this happened a few times during her pregnancy). Or they post just all-out racist articles or use her father.

The Ingrid Sewards of the world, who themselves have said terribly suspect things (Harry should have married an English Rose apparently), who like to pretend that Harry and Meghan are anomalies in all their actions (William and Kate have sued multiple times as have other royals. William and Kate sent a statement to the papers pleading for privacy at Amner when Charlotte was born, etc.) do so to otherize Meghan--another form of bias and abuse.

I am not sure if these lawsuits will help, but I hope they prevail. I have a friend whose family dealt with the cruel glare of the British tabloids. They ruin lives with no regard for truth. Something has to be done.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Originally Posted by sophie25

I know that phone hacking etc is illegal but my point is that these court cases have clearly been launched due to his anger at Meghan being criticised. I think it's obvious that in the long term this will only cause the criticism to escalate but it's entirely up to Harry to what he wants to do.

Ironically the lawsuits without the letter makes the actions seem more legit, but put together with the letter it just looks a little like a tantrum.

[Madame Verseau]

Originally Posted by ACO

Using Thomas isn’t fighting back since he can’t keep up with his own lies. Also he not saying anything new. It’s predictable he would come out the woodworks. I’m sure Meghan fully expected it. Also nothing they just printed changes anything. They still printed her copyrighted letter.

Also Thomas totally admitted in this article that he removed “painful” pieces because it hurt too much. So they were all edited. And he says he tried calling Meghan in front of the MoS reporter. I mean is he trying to build her case?

I saw that article in DM and couldn't believe it. I didn't think DM would interview Dad because of the case but I figure they would somehow discredit him. And they just did by having him admit he sent bits and pieces of the letter, basically letting DM off the hook with the charge of the paper doctoring the content. As for defending himself, Dad could have done that without releasing the bits of letter. I think Meghan has the original letter and will submit it in court.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Originally Posted by alvinking

I am afraid you are rewriting history. Mr Markle was all over TV, specifically GMB with Piers Morgan, saying he had no contact with her since the wedding, that the phone number he had was disconnected, and that she was ghosting him (incidentally Piers Morgan's talking point). That narrative was being repeated in UK media (print and TV) a lie even internationally even though it was lie. They 5 people who talked to People magazine were rebutting that false narrative and it is in this context that they alluded to the existence of that correspondance.

The point is that those 5 friends who she gave the ok to talk just made things worse. What happened to the BRF not wanting their friends talking to the press about them? All the friends talking did was enable Thomas and give him more reason to run and talk to the press

[O-H Anglophile]

I found this sentence highly amusing--

"A senior employee at one of the named outlets*" is quoted--
"I mean, if you actually read the papers we do the most fawning coverage of Meghan and Harry."

It is not true and if they believe that, they are delusional.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/prince...cases?ref=home

*named outlets-the papers being sued for phone hacking

[rominet09]

I am very much a fan of the Sussexes but I feel that they unfortunately have opened a can of worms here !

[Dman]

Originally Posted by rominet09

I am very much a fan of the Sussexes but I feel that they unfortunately have opened a can of worms here !

They’re exposing the worms. The worms that’s been abusing them for too long.

[DeeT]

There’s a much bigger picture that has been brushed under the carpet for too long. Because of Harry’s bravery more victims are already coming forward. In Harry’s heartfelt letter he said that this action ‘may not be the safe one, but it is the right one’. Thank goodness for leaders like Prince Harry for thinking of his family & others that will likely benefit when better press standards are implemented.