Meghan getting confidential sum from UK news outlet for copyright infringement

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will receive an undisclosed amount of money from The Mail on Sunday, the British tabloid that recently lost a court battle over its publication of a private letter from Meghan to her father.

Meghan sued Associated Newspapers Limited, the parent company of The Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, for copyright infringement and invasion of privacy for publishing large parts of the private letter in 2019 following her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018.

The British royal family member will collect 1 pound from Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy, in an admission of guilt from the paper, and also receive an undisclosed amount of money on the copyright infringement charge, The Guardian reported, citing court documents.

A spokesperson for the duchess told The Guardian the amount was substantial and would be donated to charity. Meghan has long said she was suing over her values and beliefs for what is right rather than financial compensation. 

Meghan won the three-year legal battle in the Court of Appeal last year on both charges and was issued a court-ordered apology from Associated Newspapers on Dec. 27. Before the apology, the newspaper had weighed another appeal.

Meghan called the ruling a “victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what is right.”

“While this win is precedent setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create,” she said in her statement.

Associated Newspapers was also ordered to publish a front-page story about its loss on the copyright infringement, which it did on Boxing Day, one of the slowest news days of the year.

The newspaper had argued that palace officials had helped write the letter, so it could be published without copyright protection, and that Meghan had written the letter with the expectation it would be published.

Meghan and Harry have quit official working duties with the British royal family and are now living in California.