Attorneys for Jessica Alba are threatening to sue Playboy magazine for using the actress’s photo on its cover this month.
In a Feb. 23 letter to the magazine’s legal department, attorney Brian G. Wolf of the Los Angeles-based law firm Lavely & Singer, said Playboy illegally obtained a picture of the bikini-clad model for its cover in order to make it appear that she was posing either nude or semi-nude in a pictorial.
A Playboy spokeswoman did not return repeated telephone calls.
Wolf also demanded that Playboy stop distributing the magazine and pay Alba a “monetary settlement” for its alleged unauthorized use of the photo, showing alba in a blue bikini. The shot, Wolf wrote, was part of a series of publicity photos for her 2005 film “Into the Blue.”
Wolf contends that the magazine had offered to pay Alba to pose for the cover, but was subsequently turned down.
The magazine allegedly asked Sony Pictures for permission to use her photo but was permitted to use her photo only within the magazine as part of an article outlining the magazine’s 25 sexiest stars and not as its cover, Wolf claimed.
“Playboy falsely represented to Columbia/MGM Pictures that Ms. Alba had knowledge of and approved the use of the photos within the magazine,” he said.
“The conduct of Playboy… has caused immeasurable harm to Ms. Alba’s reputation and career and constitutes a blatant and egregious unauthorized commercial exploitation of Ms. Alba’s rights of publicity,” he added.
Besides the use of the photo on Playboy’s cover and its Web site, Wolf also blasted the image’s retouching which added a seeming bunny-logo tattoo on the actress’s body, which he claimed was an illegal use of property belonging to the studio.
On Feb. 24, the magazine received a letter from Columbia/MGM Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs, Roger Toll, criticizing Playboy for allegedly making it appear that Alba had approved the use of her photo.
Toll said that while the studio would reserve its legal rights, it was seeking an apology to it and Alba along with a promise to refrain from similar incidents in the future.
