Douglas wedding photo case ends, ruling seen 2007

British actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (L) and husband U.S. actor Michael Douglas leave the High Court in London, February 10, 2003.

A lengthy legal battle over pictures from the wedding of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones ended on Thursday, and a 2007 ruling is expected to help define how far stars can control their image and privacy.

OK! magazine has taken its case to the House of Lords, England's highest court, in a bid to prove that rival celebrity glossy Hello!'s unauthorized "spoiler" photographs from the 2000 wedding were unlawful and damages should be paid.

OK! won the initial case and damages of one million pounds ($1.9 million) in 2003, but the ruling was overturned by the court of appeal in 2005. OK! had paid the couple one million pounds for exclusive rights to images from the marriage. Douglas and Zeta-Jones were not a part of the latest case, which wound up with closing submissions before five law lords. The lords are expected to hand down their judgment in February or March 2007, lawyers on both sides said.

They must decide whether celebrity magazines can sue if an exclusive deal is spoiled, and whether exclusivity extends beyond the time the approved photographs are published.

With stars regularly signing lucrative deals with publishers for exclusive access to a wedding or birth the decision will be closely watched by magazines, stars and media lawyers alike.

CANADIAN SINGER

A second case in London this week in the appeal court may also shed light on how privacy laws in England are developing since the introduction of human rights legislation in 2000.