Reply to Meghan and Harry file major lawsuit against British press

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote][quote][quote]
Laws are totally different in UK. Public figures have much more protection. [/quote]

Well I'm a lawyer, with admittedly little knowledge of UK law, but I do not see what the claim is at all. From news reports, it seems to center on the publication of Megan's letter (or the editing of the letter), but the paper likely got it from her father which seems to complicate any data privacy claim, and if it is a defamation case, unless the paper completely edited it to change its contents (in a defamatory way), I cannot see how this is grounds for much. And with respect to the latter, truth is always a defense and it does not seem like a good strategy for Megan/Harry to try to refute, one by one, each and every media allegation re: her family relationships, or day to day royal life, etc. I understand why they want to do this, and the British press is vicious, but I could see this case falling apart--though then again, perhaps that doesn't much matter, since this would only transpire months or even years from now, and they really just want to try to draw a hard line now.[/quote]

If you were actually a lawyer, or if you were a good lawyer, you would know that if you have little to no knowledge of the UK laws than your opinion is essentially useless. You would also be someone who paid attention to detail and would understand they were suing for copyright infringement and not defamation.

But please illuminate us how a US attorney's opinions on a defamation case's viability are relevant when discussing a UK case for copyright infringement. [/quote]

First, never ask a lawyer to "illuminate" you, however sarcastically... we always will.

And as I said above ([i]attention to detail![/i]), I think there may be some question whether the Data Protection Act would apply to a letter released by its intended recipient, and based on, yes, my very limited knowledge, it seems the scope and purpose of that Act is very different. 
 
[b]As for copyright, there will have to be some sort of fair use/news reporting exception, which is likely exactly what the Daily Mail will be litigating[/b]...  Perhaps that is why the Sussex statement went into the whole nature of the paper's "quotation" of the letter.[/quote]

I don't believe the UK has any Fair Use copyright exception, the way the US does.  There is a fair dealing exception for reporting on current events.  Would you say that this falls under that?  [/quote]

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