The Queen comes to Meghan’s assistance over letter copyright
THE Queen came to the aid of the Duchess of Sussex in her legal battle against The Mail on Sunday by dismissing claims that she owned the copyright to a letter Meghan wrote to her father.
The Queen’s lawyers intervened in the High Court case as the two sides locked horns over one of the final bones of contention.
The Duchess’s former communications secretary, Jason Knauf, also “emphatically” denied having any copyright claim to the letter, landing a final blow to the newspaper’s case.
Their interventions yesterday paved the way for Lord Justice Warby to award a summary judgment on the outstanding copyright claim and with it, further costs.
The Duchess successfully sued Associated Newspapers for breach of privacy and copyright relating to the publication of five articles featuring extracts of the letter in February 2019.
In February, she won a summary judgment, a legal step negating the need for witness evidence, in relation to the privacy claim and the bulk of the copyright claim.
One of the final issues on which both sides disagreed was whether the Duchess was the sole owner of the
copyright of the letter, having admitted that she sought guidance from others, including Mr Knauf and her husband, Prince Harry.
Associated Newspapers suggested that the Duchess sought professional advice because she knew that it would be made public and that it was intended for use as part of a media strategy to enhance her image.
As a co-author, Mr Knauf’s role at Kensington Palace might have rendered the letter Crown copyright. However, the court heard that Mr Knauf had confirmed in writing that despite making a “very minor suggestion” that Meghan include a reference to her father’s ill health, he did not co-write the letter. As such, he said he had no wish to become a party to ongoing legal proceedings.
Lawyers representing the Keeper of the Privy Purse, on behalf of the Queen, also confirmed they “did not consider the Crown to be the copyright owner”.
Andrew Caldecott QC, for Associated Newspapers, said it was “a matter of regret” that Mr Knauf ’s lawyers had not made his position clear before the summary judgment hearing in January.
The Duchess had already been awarded 90 per cent of the costs of the first summary judgment application and the judge yesterday awarded her the remaining 10 per cent.