Publishing or stopping a book about real people

With a manuscript that features real people, the publisher decides before it goes to print what remains recognisable and whether anyone may read it in advance. In the Netherlands, a book about real people may in principle be published without them reading it first; a Dutch court will only stop a book before publication in very exceptional cases, where enough is known about its content and publication would cause irreparable harm (District Court of Gelderland, 1 June 2026, in Dutch). Once the book is out, the position changes. If the court finds a passage unlawful towards someone who is recognisable in it, the book may have to be taken off the shelves in that form. The publisher can be held liable as well.

Liaise acts for both sides: publishers and authors before and after publication, and the companies and people who recognise themselves in a book.

A manuscript in preparation, or a book about you or your company? Call 020 675 88 21 or get in touch.

When a court stops a book before it is published

Under Dutch law, freedom of expression means that a court in principle only assesses a publication once it has appeared (article 7 of the Dutch Constitution and article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights). An injunction before publication, and also an order to let someone read the manuscript, is in essence prior censorship, according to the judge who hears urgent cases (the voorzieningenrechter) in Arnhem. In the court’s words, there is room for such a measure only in very exceptional circumstances: where enough is known about the content to establish that it is unlawful, and where the harm could no longer be undone by a judgment after publication. The European Court of Human Rights requires the most careful scrutiny of any restraint before publication. In Mosley (2011) it added that such a restraint is more readily justified where there is no pressing need to publish and the publication makes no obvious contribution to a debate of general interest (Mosley v. the United Kingdom, § 117). A book that only exposes someone’s private life is therefore in a weaker position than a book about wrongdoing.

That bar is high. In June 2026, three sisters, victims in a sexual abuse case in Apeldoorn, tried to prevent their fourth sister from publishing her life story in the book Het waren toch mijn ouders (“They were my parents, after all”). They asked to see the manuscript and to have publication postponed until the criminal appeal had been decided. The names in the book were fictitious and the publisher had shared a few extracts. The court refused everything, because the full content was not known and the extracts showed no breach of the sisters’ privacy (ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2026:4331, in Dutch). It also weighed that the case had already been described in detail in published criminal judgments and in the media. The book came out that month (press release of the court, in Dutch).

More about an injunction to restrain publication →

Real people recognisable in a book, even under another name

A character who is recognisably based on a real person does not by itself make a book unlawful. The District Court of Gelderland said so in so many words in 2024 and again in 2026. The 2024 case concerned a novel, the 2026 case an autobiographical book. A roman à clef is not a risk in itself.

Changing a name does not protect you automatically either. In 2019 the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal stopped an autobiographical book about domestic violence, even though the names, places and characteristics of the author’s former husband had been changed. The author published under her own name with her photograph on the cover, and media coverage made clear where the story took place. People who knew him could therefore tell who it was about (ECLI:NL:GHARL:2019:9503, in Dutch).

In that case the court weighed three factors that come up with every book about real people:

• how much of the book is about the recognisable person, here at least half;
• how far the allegations are supported by facts that can be checked outside the author’s own account;
• whether the purpose of the book could have been achieved with less recognisability, for example under a pseudonym and without a photograph.

With that balance going against the book, freedom of expression had to give way to the private life and reputation of the man and his children.

Where a book is about someone who has died, the interests of the surviving relatives come into play. Our article Of the dead, say nothing but good looks at how Dutch courts deal with that in novels and biographies.

What a publisher checks before a book about real people goes to print

A legal reading of a manuscript works person by person, not chapter by chapter. For each recognisable person we look at what the reader learns about them:

• an allegation of a criminal offence, abuse or fraud, and the facts behind it;
• details that make someone recognisable to the people around them, even without a name, such as where they live, their job, their sport or their appearance;
• information about health, sexuality or children, which weighs heavily in the balance;
• photographs on the cover and inside the book.

The result is a list of passages we would change or cut, with an alternative wording alongside.

A photograph brings in image rights. If a portrait was made without the person portrayed having asked for it, it may not be published where a legitimate interest of that person opposes publication (article 21 of the Dutch Copyright Act, in Dutch). More on this on our page about image rights.

The promotion is part of the reading too. In 2024 a former partner was given access to a novel because the author had said on social media that the book was her life story, and had told him herself that an unpleasant character was based on him (ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2024:3102, in Dutch). A cover blurb, interview or post about the book can undermine the defence that it is fiction.

If a non-fiction book makes a serious allegation, ask the person concerned for a response beforehand, as an editorial team would for an article. That strengthens the position of author and publisher if it does come to proceedings.

Having an article or broadcast reviewed before publication →

Requesting or refusing access to a manuscript

There is no general right to read a manuscript before publication, not even where it is clear that a character is based on the person asking. The GDPR does not help either. For a book that is a literary or journalistic expression, the rights of the data subject under the GDPR do not apply, and that includes the right of access (article 43 of the Dutch GDPR Implementation Act, in Dutch).

Access can only be obtained through interim injunction proceedings, and there must be concrete indications that the book will be unlawful. In 2024 there were. The author had herself spoken of an unpleasant character, and it was unclear whether the couple’s young daughter was also recognisable in the book. The court ordered her to make the book available for inspection two weeks before publication, but refused to prohibit publication without his consent (ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2024:3102, in Dutch). In the 2026 case there were no such indications and access was refused.

A request for access is not an all-or-nothing question. What you share also determines what the court can assess. In the 2026 case the publisher had shared a few extracts about the sisters on request. The court knew only those extracts, found no breach of their privacy in them and could establish nothing about the rest of the book. In the 2019 case the Court of Appeal had the whole book in front of it. A selection of the passages about the person asking shows what is in the book without handing over the entire book for assessment in advance.

If you are the one who wants to see the book, start with what the author or publisher has already said about it. In 2024 the author’s posts and what she had told her former partner were decisive.

What a court can order once a book is in the shops

After publication a court can intervene. In the 2019 case about the autobiographical book, the Court of Appeal imposed a series of measures on the author and the publisher, to be carried out within 48 hours:

• stop printing and distributing the book;
• ask every retailer to stop selling it, enclosing a copy of the judgment;
• recall the trade stock and have it destroyed, confirmed by a bailiff or civil-law notary;
• stop all promotion, including on the author’s own website and Facebook.

The court refused two claims. Copies already delivered to buyers did not have to be recalled, because that was practically impossible. A correction on the website was not needed, because the book was being withdrawn from sale (ECLI:NL:GHARL:2019:9503, in Dutch).

The injunction applied to the book in that form. The court itself noted that the author could publish it under a pseudonym and without her own photograph. An amended edition can then be a way out, also when the parties are looking for a settlement.

More about interim injunction proceedings over a publication →

Liability of author and publisher for an unlawful passage

In the 2019 case the author and the publisher were sued together. The court held that the publisher also acted unlawfully, taking into account that it had chosen to publish the book under the author’s name and with her photograph. Both had to comply with the injunction.

Between themselves, author and publisher settle in the publishing contract who bears the costs. Under the model contract agreed by Dutch publishers and the Auteursbond (June 2021 version, in Dutch), the Dutch society of authors, the author only warrants the copyright position. For a claim about the content, such as an infringement of someone’s privacy, author and publisher are jointly responsible (article 2(2)). They decide together whether and how to defend the claim and share the costs and any damages on a reasonable basis. In the event of intent or gross negligence, the party at fault bears everything.

The model contract gives two examples of such negligence. The author failed to tell the publisher in time about sensitivities concerning people in the book that the author should have foreseen. Or the publisher failed to act on timely requests from the author to change the manuscript. So if an author knows that someone will recognise themselves in the book, the publisher should hear about it before it goes to print. If your contract departs from the model, check who bears the costs and who decides on changes or a reprint.

More about the book publishing contract →

When a company or public figure is accused in a book

An exposé, a biography or a book about a corporate scandal is about people and organisations with a public role. A public figure has to tolerate more than someone who has never sought publicity, especially where the book is about that public role. In the 2019 case, the court took into account precisely that the former husband was not a public figure. For a company, what counts is what an allegation costs in revenue, commissions and trust. Our page on reputational harm sets out how a Dutch court weighs the position of a business.

If you hear that a book is on its way, ask the publisher for the passages about you or your company and for the opportunity to respond. A cease-and-desist letter before publication only stands a chance if you can show specifically what the book says and why it is wrong. Once the book is out, the routes that apply to any unlawful publication are open: a request for changes, a correction or interim injunction proceedings.

More about unlawful publication →

Lawyer for a book about real people

Liaise reads manuscripts that feature real people for publishers and authors. We mark the passages that carry a risk, suggest an alternative wording and tell you who you still need to ask for a response. If a request for access, a cease-and-desist letter or interim injunction proceedings follow, we conduct the defence. We also act for companies and public figures who recognise themselves in a book, before and after publication.

The cost of a reading depends on the length of the manuscript and the number of passages we need to review. We discuss that before we start.

A book that features real people? Call 020 675 88 21 or get in touch.