In HRH The Duchess of Sussex v. Associated Newspapers
Limited [2021] EWHC 723 (UK Ch.), the appeal dismissed [2021]
EWCA Civ 1801 (UKCA), the plaintiff's claim for infringement of
copyright relating to a letter written by her and its publication
in the defendant's papers was allowed. On appeal, the UK Court
of Appeal considered the defendant's attempt to rely on fair
dealing for the purpose of news reporting. The judge, at first
instance, rejected the defence. The main reason was that the
reproduction of the letter was essentially for the purpose of
reporting its contents, which was not a current event, and that the
use made of the letter was not fair.
On the appeal, the court said the defendant knew it was dealing
with unpublished work, it copied a large and important proportion
of the work's original literary content, most of which
infringed the claimant's privacy rights and was
disproportionate to any legitimate reporting purpose. The fairness
of the
