Employment lawyers have a great deal to thank Hollywood and its stars for. Michael Douglas in particular has covered a lot of ground. Disclosure gave us an insight into sexual harassment in the workplace. Wall Street illustrated the damage that can be done when a key employee leaves and engages in competitive activity. And more recently his wedding to Catherine Zeta-Jones provides a masterclass on the law of confidence and privacy.
The couple sold exclusive rights to publish wedding photographs to OK! magazine for a nine month period. OK! asserted that Hello! offered three times the contractual sum, but that the couple trusted OK! to print only the images they wanted published. Two days after the wedding, Ms Zeta-Jones warned OK! that Hello! was about to publish unauthorised photographs. An interim injunction was obtained, but Hello! appealed and the Court of Appeal discharged the injunction. Hello! published its spoiling issue three days before OK!’s issue.
