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Followup: JK Rowling Wins Appeal on Child Photo Privacy Case
NewsPreviously we told you of a legal matter involving author J.K. Rowling and photographs of her young 18 month old son that were published in a UK paper several years ago. In effort to protect their privacy of their young children, the case went to court, and today Jo and her husband Dr. Neil Murray won an appeal that would ban further publication of photographs. According to the BBC, the couple released a statement about this matter, stating:
“We understand and accept that with the success of Harry Potter there will be a measure of legitimate media and public interest in Jo’s professional activities and appearances. However, we have striven to give our children a normal family life outside the media spotlight. We are immensely grateful to the court for giving our children protection from covert, unauthorised photography; this ruling will make an immediate and material difference to their lives.”
In making the ruling, one of the judges involved said “If a child of parents who are not in the public eye could reasonably expect not to have photographs of him published in the media, so too should the child of a famous parent. In our opinion, it is at least arguable that a child of ‘ordinary’ parents could reasonably expect that the press would not target him and publish photographs of him.”
Reuters also reports an attorney for J.K. Rowling reflected on the impact this ruling will have for the media in the UK, as he is quoted as saying this case will have a “profound effect … on certain sections of the paparazzi.This case establishes a law of privacy for children in those cases where, understandably, the parents wish to protect their children from intrusive photography by the paparazzi,” he said. “I am sure that the overwhelming majority of the media will welcome it.”
Thanks to the many who emailed!
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Woop 2nd comment!!
At least Jo is having some legal luck at the moment.
Im glad Jo pursued this. Every parent has the right to protect their children. : )
I’m glad Jo won something in court. This case should have been a no-brainer. It’s intrusive and dangerous to publish photos of a celebrity’s child.
I’m glad you won Neil and Jo!
YES, YES and YES !!!! WOOOOpeeeeee for JKR. At last, one in the eye for the loathsome paparazzi. May it be the first of many triumphs for JKR this summer.
Yeah! Maybe this will be the first of multiple victories for Jo this summer.
Glad to hear that sense won out in this case, and that Jo and Neil’s children can lead a paparazzi-free life now. Just hope the judge can see sense in the Lexicon book case now.
wohoo!
Excellent news. Children should be allowed to remain children away from the spotlight.
This is so great! I’ve been waiting for this. This verdict means a great deal for childrens rights. I hope the press (that is to say, certain parts of the press) in other countries will take notice and show greater respect for childen – who ever their parents are!
I supported her in this one and rightly so. However, I dont support her case against the Lexicon.
Way to go Mr. and Mrs. Murray! If they don’t ask your permission, they should not be able to publish photos of underage children.
This is good. I’m glad Jo fought it further. More celebs should do this.
Although I’m surprised it was a UK paper not an international since I thought that in the UK publications including magazines like Hello and OK!, they had to always blur the faces of celeb kids unlike the US publications.
Celeb kids are not famous. They are cute to look at but it’s not the point. The obsession the US mags have with for example Shiloh and Suri is over the top.
Oh my God! I remember this!
That’s one going on two court wins for Jo coming up!
That’s interesting, Rachel… I’d always thought Hello! was Spanish (Hola!) but I looked it up and it did start in the UK after all. It has Canadian and Russian editions too. Gah… perfect for the Skeeters :P
Anyhow, YAY!!! This outcome was everything we hoped for!
It’s a very good thing this happened, as it was invasive into the privacy of a young child.
Am I the only one who just saw the “Jo Wins appeal” on the RSS widget and went “YES!” thinking it was the Lexicon case?
Leaky Poll
Who should win the JKR/WB vs RDR lawsuit?
- JKR and WB: The HPL takes too much and adds too little7330 (78%)
- RDR: Lexicons are fair use1536 (16%)
- I'll answer in the comments441 (4%)
I’m so glad that the courts made the correct decision to protect the privacy of Jo & Neil’s children. It’s unfortunate that in the state of our world today that many paparazzi and journalists have no sense of propriety any more regarding what civilized behavior is.