British justice officials ruled on Wednesday that Meghan Markle owns all copyright of a letter to her father Thomas, proving that he is absolutely correct in his lawsuit against the tabloid that published the letter on Sunday.
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The 39-year-old former American actress had already won the first part of the lawsuit for an invasion of privacy charge against the newspaper on February 11th. She blamed him for posting a written letter in 2018, in which she asked her father Thomas Markle to stop gushing and lying in the media about their shattered relationship.
London High Court Judge Mark Warby said at the time that publishing the letter infringed copyright, but a trial was needed to determine the owner, and the Associated Newspapers said his contact team helped the Duchess of Sussex write it.
France Press agency
On Wednesday, the judge finally decided that the copyright for this letter did not belong to the British Crown, but to Meghan Markle.
In doing so, he fully wins his case against the tabloid, which in March had already had to report on its front page about his first legal defeat against Prince Harry’s wife.
According to Ian Mill, Meghan Markle’s attorney, the Queen’s services “rejected any copyright claims on behalf of the Crown.” The former royal couple’s communications secretary, Jason Knauf, also told via his attorney that he had not written or participated in drafting this letter.
For his part, the attorney for the Associated Press, publisher of the tabloid Mail on Sunday, said it was “unfortunate” that Mr. Knauf had not clarified this point earlier.
Prince Harry, 36, who is sixth in line to succeed the British throne, has repeatedly denounced the media pressure on the couple and made it the main reason for his withdrawal from the royal family, as of April 2020.