Meghan's Mail on Sunday statement on hold

The Mail on Sunday has been given time to seek permission to appeal a ruling that it publish a front-page statement about the Duchess of Sussex winning her copyright claim against the newspaper.

Meghan sued for a copyright breach over the publication of a letter to her father and won most of her claim.

A High Court judge then ruled the MoS must print on its front page and page three that it infringed her copyright.

The statement is on hold after its publisher sought permission to appeal.

Meghan, 39, brought the legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) - the publisher of both the MoS and MailOnline.

It was over a handwritten letter to her father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018, parts of which were later published in news articles.

Last month, the duchess won her privacy claim and most of her copyright claim. The judge ruled the letter was "personal and private" and Meghan had a "reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private".

Lord Justice Warby subsequently said the MoS must print a single statement on the front page, referring readers to a further statement on page three.

MailOnline must also publish the statement "for a period of one week".

On Monday, Lord Justice Warby said ANL had applied for permission to appeal.

The judge refused ANL permission, but granted a "stay" of the order "only until the matter has been decided by the Court of Appeal".

He said the stay would expire on 6 April, to give ANL time to apply directly to the Court of Appeal.

Meghan welcomed her High Court privacy victory last month.

After the Mail On Sunday was ordered to print the statements earlier this month, a spokesman for the newspaper said: "We will be applying to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal, including in relation to aspects of the judgment today."

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