Harry & Meghan: Legal Actions against the Media

[Humbugged]

Originally Posted by Pranter

I'm trying to recall...but didn't one of Diana's butlers and Hewitt get into hot water over releasing her letters?


LaRae

The lawyer that ACO linked to mentions that instance and the fact that the UK press wouldn't publish them because of copyright .


He goes on to say they sometimes do take a punt on publishing stuff that breaches copyright than cross their fingers and pray they don't get sued .


Notice the Mail makes no mention of the copyright breach and only brings up the editing part of the suit

[Curryong]

I'm late on hearing this news because of the time difference. (It's 9am here in Austraiia.) I just want to say-good on you Harry and Meghan. As the lies and twisted narratives from the Sunday Mail and other daily tabloids have piled up I prayed that the couple would do something like this.

I'm happy that it has now occurred. I believe every word in Harry's statement is heartfelt and true, and I hope that when their case is won the tabloids will finally back off attacks on the Sussexes.

[Rudolph]

I support them taking legal action if they think that’s their best recourse.

[TLLK]

I believe that they always meant to take legal action, but on advice of counsel were biding their time and waited until they had enough evidence to support their claims and ensure their best chance of a verdict in their favor.

[Humbugged]

Originally Posted by TLLK

I believe that they always meant to take legal action, but on advice of counsel were biding their time and waited until they had enough evidence to support their claims and ensure their best chance of a verdict in their favor.

Or they were waiting for the adjudication on The Sun and Dan Wooten's car park smear to be announced which it was a couple of days ago .


Front page big letters by the way for the retraction they got

[O-H Anglophile]

Originally Posted by Humbugged

And I was explaining there is no such thing as fair use under this statute in England



And once again US law matters not a jot in England .



It matters as much as me trying to extrapolate the chances of winning a case of slander or libel in the US by suggesting that someone could sue because of the law in England

You do however have the doctrine in the UK of fair dealing, which while more limited than fair use could apply here as it can be used for the reporting of current events.

"Fair dealing is an exception to United Kingdom copyright law which allows for the use of copyrighted works without licensing in certain circumstances. It is governed by Sections 29 and 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which provide three types of situation in which fair dealing is a valid defence: where the use is for the purposes of research or private study, where it is to allow for criticism or review, and where it is for the purpose of reporting current events."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_d...ed_Kingdom_law

I am in no way defending how the Sunday Daily Mail used the letter.

Originally Posted by CrownPrincessJava

Absolutely agreed here. The Queen and Prince Charles should have tried to set precedence whilst Diana was alive - they should have gone after the press. Prince William did when nude photos of Kate were published.

I applaud Prince Harry and Meghan for taking the Press to task. The abuse they have faced is beyond disgusting.

I wonder - can Meghan, as an American citizen, take legal action in the US?

Since Diana allied herself with certain members of the press during some of the coverage that would have been problematic. Richard Kay and Andrew Morton come to mind.

I do not think Meghan can sue in the U.S. for something published in the UK.

[ACO]

Meghan not suing the press for the nonsense they write about her though. She has a legit copyright claim against them. In this suit though she is hitting at the Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail as she is suing the parent company, I believe.

Harry's statement is of support that is taking a shot at the media's behavior but that is not the same as the lawsuit.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Originally Posted by Humbugged

And I was explaining there is no such thing as fair use under this statute in England



And once again US law matters not a jot in England .



It matters as much as me trying to extrapolate the chances of winning a case of slander or libel in the US by suggesting that someone could sue because of the law in England

The comparison could help American forum members to understand what the issue at hand is.

[MARG]

Originally Posted by HighGoalHighDreams

I applaud Harry for taking the action he believes is right instead of the one he believes is easy. I specifically single out Harry here because he represents this "right rather than easy" as his own thoughts, rather than those of his wife Meghan. I wish to applaud her too if these are her feelings.

I wish this statement by Harry had omitted two things: the reference to his son, and the reference to his mother. The reference to his son was, in my opinion, not relevant in the way it was used. It felt it was added in as "this all happened while she was pregnant and a new mother," and if these allegations are true, they should not have occurred whether Meghan was pregnant or a new mother or not. Period. This treatment was not inappropriate because of her status as a pregnant woman or a mother, it was inappropriate because of her status as a human being. As for the reference to his mother, not only is everyone aware of what happened, but no other individual would get away with saying they are launching a legal action because they lost a family member when something similar happened. It would, and should, be set aside as irrelevant. I am sure my feelings on this will not be popular.

I would have to take issue with you in both cases:

Megan was mercilessly harassed in every ugly way during her pregnancy. My three older sisters were incredibly sensitive when they were pregnant. Those "it's okay for being pregnant" style of comments were incredibly good at undermining their confidence and were emotional grenades on a hormonal woman. In Meghan's case, they were not even true.

But my top of the hit parade was the kerfuffle about how inept and just plain useless Meghan was because she didn't even know how to hold her own baby! There is nobody more vulnerable than a new, first-time mother, a woman filled with a sense of her own inadequacies which is rubbish but when you are a sleep-deprived new mother those sorts of comments are designed to hurt and they even got experts in to evaluate her body language. What's the stance for "I'd like to wring the neck of every journo and faux expert marriage, motherhood and raising children"?

As to the reference to his mother, that is very pertinent. She lived the best and worst of the Media storm and he and William, as vulnerable children, lived it with her. They saw the pain it caused their mother on a continual basis. Story after story, week after week, and then they got teased at school about the latest "scandal". Those were not happy days because neither knew how to rescue her.

I would bet my last dollar that Harry would never, in his wildest nightmares, believe that as a grown man, a husband and father, he would be in the exact same position, seeing his beloved wife abused by the media and being unable to do much if anything.

Originally Posted by Rudolph

“The Queen and the Prince of Wales are understood to have been “informed” about the statement, which was circulated last night. The Duke has spoken with his grandmother, a source said.”

Via The Telegraph

Falls short of saying it was approved by the higher-ups. Sounds like they were told about it after the fact.

Since the Sussexes have moved their offices to BP they have become quite proactive about making complaints and subsequent wins spurred on by Charles, Andrew and William who have all sued both newspapers and broadcasters, I think the Sussexes have the support of the Queen and Charles.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Originally Posted by O-H Anglophile

Since Diana allied herself with certain members of the press during some of the coverage that would have been problematic. Richard Kay and Andrew Morton come to mind.
.

This right here, why would Charles and The Queen work to protect Diana when she herself was speaking to the press. Neither Kate or Meghan has allied with the press against The BRF like Diana did.

[Humbugged]

Originally Posted by XeniaCasaraghi

The comparison could help American forum members to understand what the issue at hand is.

The issue is there is explicit copyright law with limited exemptions to publishing peoples letters without permission being granted.The only way they could justify it is somehow trying to make the case that it was in the Public Interest .But as ACO's lawyer said Public Interest and interesting to the public is not the same thing .


So is her pleading with her dad to stop selling stories to the press somehow a topic that needs to be aired for the national good or is it just they think their readers might enjoy gossip they might have got out it ?

[XeniaCasaraghi]

@HighDreamsHighGoals
I agree I also cringed a little when he brought up Diana. I feel what is going on with Meghan and what happened to Kate (in France) can stand on their own without having to mention Diana. WnH probably do take these things more serious because of their mom but Everytime they push back against the press they don't need to drop Diana's name. This newest pushback from Harry makes me think the stories of both WnH being overprotective were not exaggerated.

[ACO]

The press attacked Meghan everyday of her pregnancy. Never seen anything like it. That’s usually when the media chills but nope they were as vile as ever. The fact this suit has been in the works for months says plenty.

Harry has every right to be overprotective of his wife. These people don’t care about her well being. They proved that. She just another headline and if something happens then that’s just more clicks for them.

So yes Harry and William should do all they can to protect their loved ones.

[Madame Verseau]

Team Sussex on this matter. I didn't expect this to come out but I bet DM didn't expect it either, not while they were on tour and especially when Meghan's father played a role in this. There was talk about legal action earlier this year but they were trying to settle. I'm glad the queen and Charles were given the heads up.

I noticed the claim bits and pieces were cut out of the published letter. That claim couldn't be made unless Meghan had the original and Thomas was mailed a copy and Thomas sold the copy to DM and possibly leaving out or altering certain parts. It's probably what DM's lawyers are afraid of - it sold to the public it had the complete letter. You could tell it wasn't because the pages were numbered. Not familiar with UK law, but if it's proven in court that the Dad/DM letter is fake the tabloid has exposure. I think Dad would be thrown under the double decker bus.

[Zaira]

This all just so sad. The press, and many in the public like to pretend royals are somehow not real people w/real emotions. With Meghan, the hate and vitriol has become scary and violent. Something needed to be done.

Harry's letter really hit hard. What a tragic situation all around. I am not sure I understand the timing of announcing it during tour, but I am worried about how the press will respond. The papers are going to get very ugly :( As bad as we think things are, the British tabloid press can always dig a new bottom.

Really hoping better angels prevail with the press but that is a fool's hope.

[Ista]

Originally Posted by Zaira

I am not sure I understand the timing of announcing it during tour, but I am worried about how the press will respond. The papers are going to get very ugly :( As bad as we think things are, the British tabloid press can always dig a new bottom.

Really hoping better angels prevail with the press but that is a fool's hope.

The timing was a little odd. It seems to me that it might have been better if it had been released after the Sussexes were either on their way back home, or after they had arrived. It seems as though this has deflated some of the high from a really well done tour, and taken the focus away from some of the work that they are there to do, which makes me think there must have been a reason that the release was made when it was. I wonder if we'll ever find out why.

Like others, I feel as though the inclusion of Diana was unnecessary, but this is obviously a highly emotional issue for Harry (understandably) so it is easy to see where he is coming from.

[ACO]

I questioned the timing as well but then I thought there is no good time. Today or tomorrow. The story will be the same. Also as I was talking to some friends with legal background they pointed out that there could have been a deadline between the two parties. This has clearly been months in the making.

[DeeT]

I fully support the Sussexes! They have been under attack. It’s wrong to bully anyone, Meghan was bullied daily throughout her pregnancy & then postpartum, that is evil and anyone that defends the press is complicit in bullying. No one knows the toll the abuse has taken on the Sussexes. Thankfully Meghan delivered a healthy baby who appears to be doing well.

False information has frequently been reported then repeated in print, tv, radio. This evening a reporter was on tv quoting as fact info that was already retracted by the Sun. Totally proving Harry’s comment about the damage done.

Diana is Harry’s mother, he has a right to include his feelings about her if he wants. Reporters, ex-staff, friends, are still using Diana to make money. They are the ones who should stop using her name. Harry stated how he feels & that’s his absolute right. I fully support the Harry & Meghan!

[Zaira]

Originally Posted by Ista

The timing was a little odd. It seems to me that it might have been better if it had been released after the Sussexes were either on their way back home, or after they had arrived. It seems as though this has deflated some of the high from a really well done tour, and taken the focus away from some of the work that they are there to do, which makes me think there must have been a reason that the release was made when it was. I wonder if we'll ever find out why.

Like others, I feel as though the inclusion of Diana was unnecessary, but this is obviously a highly emotional issue for Harry (understandably) so it is easy to see where he is coming from.

According to Chris Ship in his ITV report I just caught up on, they had to announce today due to some legal proceeding deadlines and issues so I guess that answers my question.

I think the tour has more than generated enough good will. But I am sad that Meghan speaking to the press may get overshadowed. She did very well in her short bit even though you could tell she was a bit nervous.

If nothing else, the media can finally stop baying about never getting to "know" or speak with Meghan now.

[Countessmeout]

Full support of the Sussexes on this move

The tabloids, the MOS chief among them, have turned into a pack of rabid bullies plain and simple. The ridiculous stories they have woven against this couple are mind boggling at times. So much so that even people who dont like the couple have come to their defense on social media.

They can't go after the MOS for all the stories they print. But they can go after this one, because of copyrite. And they can hit the MOS where it hurts and that is in their pocket books. They have proven long ago reputation and credibility are not as important as money is to them. Maybe if they have to pay out a huge fine to the couple, they may stop for a half second.

And sweet justice that any money they pay would go to anti-bullying campaigns.