Day 157 - 18 Jul 95 - Page 52


     
     1        hands of a witness, then all they need to do is to say,
     2        "You must give it back as soon as you have finished with
     3        it, because you are only entitled to use it for the purpose
     4        of preparing your evidence in court."  The reason for this
     5        part of the undertaking is the simple one that amongst the
     6        Defendants' witnesses we have no doubt whatever that there
     7        are persons who would otherwise use the transcripts in
     8        order to compile these misleading and unrepresentative
     9        reports of the proceedings.
    10
    11        My Lord, it goes on:
    12
    13             "(4) In consequence, the circulation of the
    14             material would be confined to yourselves, your
    15             legal advisers and your future witnesses.  No
    16             other person or body would be permitted to have
    17             access to it, whether directly or indirectly;
    18             that is to say, the Defendants, their legal
    19             advisers and their witnesses would not be
    20             permitted to pick up the telephone to some
    21             sympathetic organ of the media and say, 'Gosh,
    22             did you know that Mr. So and so said such and
    23             such yesterday in the court' and, at the same
    24             time, omit to tell the person on the other end
    25             of the telephone how it was that what Mr. So and
    26             so said was fully answered by McDonald's.
    27
    28             (5) If McDonald's perceive by reference, for
    29             example, to media reports, Internet
    30             transmissions or McLibel Support Campaign or
    31             London Greenpeace literature that material was
    32             being used for any purpose other than the
    33             conduct of the case they would immediately, and
    34             without notice, cease paying for it to be
    35             provided to you.
    36
    37             (6) In this connection you should understand
    38             that verbatim quotations from the material which
    39             misrepresent or distort the overall effect of
    40             the evidence by means of selection, suppression
    41             or omission, are every bit as objectionable as
    42             explicit misquotations, misattributions or
    43             misdescriptions."
    44
    45        My Lord, that reflects the passage in Gattley which I read
    46        to your Lordship not long ago.
    47
    48             "(7) You will notice that McDonald's would not
    49             consent to your copying any material.  The
    50             reason is that that consent is not theirs to 
    51             give but Barnett Lenton's, who own the copyright 
    52             in the material." 
    53
    54        I have never said, despite what Ms. Steel said a moment
    55        ago, that McDonald's had any copyright rights in this
    56        material.  Those rights belong to Barnett Lenton.
    57        McDonald's have bought, in effect, a licence from the
    58        copyright owner, Barnett Lenton, to use the transcripts for
    59        the purposes of these proceedings.  Nor is Ms. Steel right
    60        in suggesting she has no basis for it that McDonald's have

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