Li's daughter began donating his diaries to Stanford when he was still alive, saying this was per her father's wishes. But following his death, his widow sued for the documents to be returned to Beijing. Stanford framed the case as a fight against Chinese government censorship, arguing it was the rightful owner of the diaries and that they would be banned if returned.
On Tuesday, the court ruled the donation made to the Hoover Institution at Stanford was "lawful and in accordance with Li's wishes".