Harry Markle ~ That 'Letter'
Articles On The Thomas Markle Letter Case
I’m currently writing up articles documenting the recent summary judgment application, in respect to ‘The Letter Case’ where Meghan Markle is suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for several things including copyright infringement. As of now, I am ploughing through some witness statements, and the more I read, the chances of a summary judgment seem unlikely. However, I believe this was another attempt at trying to throw ‘Finding Freedom’ out of the equation.
I decided to write an overview, mainly because people who aren’t familiar with case or procedures ask lots of questions, so I felt a good foundation would prevent these questions that many people who have followed the case know the answers to. I am writing for people who may read this in a century, and so for some who thought it offered little, please bear this in mind.
You can read the articles on Wordpress here: https://harrymarkle.wordpress.com/2021/01/23/the-letter-case-part-1-the-summary-judgment-application/
https://harrymarkle.wordpress.com/2021/02/06/the-letter-case-part-3-the-claimants-mm-argument/
https://harrymarkle.wordpress.com/2021/02/10/the-letter-case-part-4-the-defendants-argument/
The case is actually quite straightforward in the grand scheme of things, but the problem is there are lots of egos, and it is a case of who is being forced to tell the truth first. With so many amended statements, and more players being dragged into what is essentially a PR stunt that has gone wrong, the case revolves around who is willing to tell the truth, and who will proffer evidence to prove the truth.
The outcome is about reputations, and who lied, who got caught, and who was or are the real victim/s? During a worldwide pandemic, where Covid-19 is killing people, this case seems pointless, petty, and trivial. That makes it all the more senseless, because does anyone really win here? Thomas Markle wants to save his reputation, and his daughter wants everyone to believe she is a victim and that she deserves sympathy and pity. Frankly, most of the population don’t care, as they are too busy trying to survive – that is the reality of it all.
I feel that the public voice on the matter of the Sussexes abusing their titles is important, and that not everyone is on social media, yet they want to have their say. I am going to see if this platform will fill that gap, for those who want to voice their opinions, but without being attacked by trolls, and sugars.
Please bear with me as I experiment, and I will remain on Wordpress for the time being, but hope to publish some articles here once I am able to navigate this platform.
I have only glanced at parts of the judgment and there are some aspects that I don't believe are 'safe'. I agree with the fair dealing which we thought would be a suitable defence, however as we did not have access to the whole letter, by using more than 40% and a substantial amount, that would have negated the defence. Again, as we don't have the whole letter , it is a judgment call if it was substantial or not. I still can't comment on that.
In terms of whether Thomas Markle had a right to print his story, Warby plays down the part in People, and says his actions were disproportionate to the article, but is he able to judge that? He doesn't actually know the facts of the misleading claims, so he can't judge.
Others say Thomas Markle should sue People, and yes he should as then the friends and MM would have to testify, but he doesn't want to harm or attack his daughter. The question is, did he fail ANL?
The case should see an appeal, and copyright law is very complex and there are no hard rules as the law evolves with each case. The fact that the other parties (Knauf and co) have remained silent has aided MM's case – another BP failure, because they should have acted sooner. As in stopped any involvement when she wrote the letter.
Was Warby clouded by the confidential claim? Perhaps? The thing is this is civil law and another judge would see things quite differently, as laws can be interpreted in various ways. Do I think this was a fair judgment? No, because the evidence wasn't laid out in full, and Warby claims that with the evidence it was unlikely to have succeeded. As the evidence was incomplete, one can't make that judgment, and the only fair thing to do was go to trial as during cross-examination is the time when evidence can be challenged. It is a poor day for justice when a judge believes that he can assess a case when half the evidence has been presented.
I've written an overview of some of the implications of the case from a public perspective. I will do a legal breakdown next week because I have another case to work on. https://harrymarkle.wordpress.com/2021/02/13/the-letter-case-trial-denied-is-that-biased-justice/