Hyde Park Residence v Yelland [2000] RPC 604

• Sun published stills from security camera footage which showed Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed arriving and leaving a Paris villa.

• Owner of villa brought action for breach of copyright.

• Defendant argued publication was fair dealing for purposes of reporting current events (current event was the recent statement of Mohammed Al-Fayed that the couple were engaged and had gone to the villa to discuss wedding plans, which the Sun believed the stills disproved).

Held

• Printing of stills was for purposes of reporting a current event.

• However it was not ‘fair’

  • Printing of stills on its own did not prove whether Diana and Dodi were engaged or not. Thus was not necessary to print any of the stills to report the current event.

• In addition the stills were obtained in breach of confidence and had not been intended for publication.