Allen wins $5m settlement

Woody Allen has agreed an out-of-court settlement with American Apparel ...

10:45 19 May 2009

Film director Woody Allen has agreed a $5 million (3.3 million) out-of-court settlement with clothing company American Apparel who used his image without authorisation.

Allen sued the fashion company after they used an image of him from the 1977 classic film 'Annie Hall' in a billboard advertising campaign last year.

Allen was originally seeking $10million, however speaking outside Manhattan federal court in New York he said the settlement was "enough to discourage American Apparel or anyone else from ever trying such a thing again".

He added: "I sued American Apparel because they calculatingly took my name, likeness and image and used them publicly to promote their business.

"Testimony revealed that American Apparel believed that fear of publicity would keep me from ever taking action."

Before the settlement, the company's lawyer Stuart Slotnick said the trial would focus on the right to free speech.

He said: "At trial we will explain how the use of the image from the Annie Hall film was used to make a social statement and address social issues that were already subject to public discourse."