Date: 24th November 2000

Court Lifts Ban On Magazine's Douglas Wedding Pictures


LATEST: A ban on CATHERINE ZETA JONES and MICHAEL DOUGLAS' wedding pictures appearing in HELLO! magazine has been lifted by Britain's Court of Appeal.

The Hollywood couple signed a $1.5 million (£1 million) deal with OK! magazine for exclusive pictures of their $1.8 million (£1.2 million) wedding in New York at the weekend (18NOV00) but, after rival Hello! hit the streets with their own "exclusive" photographs, the stars and OK! immediately launched legal action.

Although they were too late to stop 15,750 copies already on sale, a High Court judge in London yesterday (22NOV00) banned the rest of the 755,900 print run. Hello! then went to the Court of Appeal and urged Lords Justices BROOKE, SEDLEY and KEENE, to discharge the injunction.

The latest move in the legal row was contested by the newlyweds and OK! However, after a hearing over two days in London, LORD JUSTICE BROOKE announced, "The court proposes to allow the appeal and set aside the injunction."

MANINDER GILL, solicitor for the couple, sa, "They are very very disappointed at the decision because Michael and Catherine were very very upset at the publication of these photographs. "They were obviously taken surreptitiously and against their wishes." (RGS/WNWCAN/NFA)

Source: WENN