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May 18, 2005updated 22 Nov 2022 3:24pm

10.30am: Court of Appeal backs Hello! in Douglas-Jones wedding case

By Press Gazette

The Court of Appeal has ruled that Hello! magazine was entitled to
publish a spoiler spread on the wedding of Catherine Zeta-Jones and
Michael Douglas
marking the end of a four-year legal fight.

The
decision overturns a previous decision which ordered
Hello! to pay damages and costs to OK! of more than £2 million.
The
famous couple originally sold their wedding photos to OK! magazine but
Hello! was able to publish a spoiler after it obtained snaps from
another wedding-goer. The result was substantial loss in sale for
Hello! which thought it had obtained the exclusive rights to the event.
Hello! was represented by London media lawyers, m law.
Chris Hutchings of m law said: “This was a spat
between two rival publishers and not between Hello! and the Douglases.
The judgment is a resounding win for Hello!. The focus of this case was
not about privacy, it was about commerce and in particular the common
practise of editorial ‘spoilers’. As a result of our win, Richard
Desmond will now have to write a cheque to Hello! for a very large
amount of money indeed.”

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