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STOP PRESS: Victory for Son of Potter in privacy appeal

By Johanna Gibson, David Pearce, Jeremy Phillips and Ilanah Simon.

It's not yet on BAILII, but it's officially news: JK Rowling has won her appeal against the High Court's refusal to award damages and to prohibit publication of paparazzi photos taken of her son David being pushed in a buggy when he was 18 months old. According to a statement from JK and her husband, "We wanted our children to grow up like their friends, free from unwarranted intrusion into their privacy".

Right: now that the threat of the paparazzi has gone, the IPKat reckons it's safe to come out of hiding

It seems the judgment was delivered by Sir Anthony Clarke, the Master of the Rolls, whom The Telegraph quotes as saying:

"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".

Defendant Big Pictures is believed to be facing a bill for the lion's share of the costs, estimated at £600,000.

Further comment will follow once the IPKat has a chance to read the decision in full.

Decision of Mr Justice Patten here
IPKat comment on earlier ruling here
See further on The Telegraph, Teletext, MSNBC and The Guardian.
Paparazzi here

Full post as published by IPKat on May 07, 2008 (boomark / email).