Gossip magazines in copyright battle
OK! magazine has issued a copyright claim against rival celebrity gossip magazine Heat over coverage of Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy.
OK!’s North American edition published an exclusive interview with Ms Spears, the younger sister of singer Britney, in which the 16 year-old revealed she was pregnant.
OK!, owned by Northern and Shell, claim that Heat breached copyright by carrying large parts of the text of the interview without authorisation and publishing it under an “exclusive” banner.
Proceedings against Heat’s publisher Emap London Lifestyle Limited and editor-in-chief Mark Frith were issued yesterday.
This is of course not the first time OK! has taken action to protect the value of its exclusives. The magazine was embroiled in a seven-year legal battle with Hello! magazine over photos taken at the wedding of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, culminating in a House of Lords decision last year.
Links
- OK! sues Heat over Spears exclusive – Guardian
- OK! sues Heat over Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy story – Press Gazette