UK TABLOID ISSUES FRONT-PAGE APOLOGY TO MEGHAN MARKLE FOR INVADING HER PRIVACY
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, received a front-page apology from The Mail, a British newspaper, for publishing pieces of her letter addressed to her father after years of a legal battle.
“The Duchess of Sussex wins her legal case for copyright infringement against Associated Newspapers for articles published in The Mail on Sunday and posted on Mail Online,” Sunday’s front page notice read.
The apology continued, “Following a hearing on 19-20 January 2021, and a further hearing on 5 May 2021, the court has given judgment for the Duchess of Sussex on her claim for copyright infringement. The court found that Associated Newspapers infringed her copyright by publishing extracts of her handwritten letter to her father in The Mail on Sunday and on Mail Online. Financial remedies have been agreed.”
At the beginning of this year, Markle filed a lawsuit against the British newspaper, The Mail accusing the newspaper of alleged copyright infringement for putting in print parts of her five-page letter to Markle’s father, composed right after her matrimony to Prince Harry in May 2018.
The high court ruled in favor of her. The Mail issued their front-page apology for one week with a hyperlink to the full official judgment. However, the apology was issued when the newspaper sales were low.
Apart from demanding 90% legal fees, Meghan Markle demanded that the tabloid return any reprints or samples of her letter along with electronic copies or handwritten notes. Markle’s team reported that her legal price was nearly 1.7 million dollars, half was to be paid in just fourteen days.
The Duchess affirmed it as a victory not just for herself but for those who feel fearful of raising their voices for what is right. She further proclaimed, “From day one, I have treated this lawsuit as a matter of right and wrong. However, the defendant took this as a game with no rules.”
Markle, along with the Duke, may have given up their position as senior royals, but it hasn’t stopped them from scraping up capital. Together they own multimillionaire partnerships with Apple, Netflix, Spotify, along with financing in vegan coffee, a memoir, a children’s book, as well as profitable public speaking performances.
