Douglas v Hello! Ltd

Everyone will recall the glamorous couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, more used to red carpets than courtrooms, fighting for their privacy over wedding photos sold to Hello! The couple sold exclusive rights of their wedding to OK! for £1m in order to retain control over the media and their privacy. The Claimants based their claim on breach of confidence, breach of privacy and breach of the Data Protection Act. Aside from the celebrity angle, this case has attracted much attention because it has tested the bounds of the right to privacy, introduced in 2000 by the Human Rights Act.

Commercial exploitation of privacy or "image rights"

The Court of Appeal ruled that whilst Hello! had breached the Douglases' confidentiality, that confidentiality did not extend to OK!, the third Claimant. OK! had no cause of action against Hello! for breach of commercial confidence. The decision will come as a blow to magazines and newspapers wishing to protect their