Laurence Pieau, an editor of Closer's French
edition, and Ernesto Mauri, the chief executive of Italian
publisher Mondadori, the magazine's owner, were each handed
maximum fines of 45,000 euros ($52,582) in September last year.
Closer magazine, a weekly round-up of gossip about the rich and
famous, was also ordered to pay 100,000 euros in damages to
William, second-in-line to the British throne, and his wife.
Lawyers for the two men argued the fines were excessive for a
privacy case, French media reported.
The Versailles appeals court found that the fines imposed by the
initial ruling were "fair and proportionate", court documents
showed.
Closer published a series of topless photos of Kate taken as she
relaxed on the balcony on a chateau in southeastern France's
Luberon region.
Closer magazine's lawyers had sought in the original trial to
justify publication of the photos on public interest grounds,
saying they disproved rumors circulating at the time that Kate
might be anorexic.
(Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing
by Leigh Thomas)
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