Woody Allen reaches $5m settlement with American Apparel

With a trial set to begin today, American Apparel opted to pay $5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Woody Allen. The actor-director sued the Los Angeles clothing retailer last year for $10 million for using his image on the company’s billboards without his permission. But don’t expect an apology from American Apparel founder and chief executive Dov Charney, who said in a statement that it was his insurance company, not him, that opted to settle. Charney reportedly told journalists outside the New York courthouse that he was “not sorry of expressing myself.” For his part, Allen blasted American Apparel, calling the company’s 1st Amendment defense “sheer nonsense” and accusing it of trying “to smear me,” the Associated Press reported. – from LAtimes

The film director Woody Allen and the clothing magnate Dov Charney of American Apparel today avoided a potentially bruising encounter over a complaint of breach of copyright after they reached a settlement on the steps of a New York court. Under the deal, Allen will receive $5m (£3.3m) in damages for the unauthorised use of his image in a billboard advertising campaign for American Apparel last year. The settlement – which amounts to half of the sum Allen had demanded – spares both men the public humiliation of a trial that had been expected to last up to a month. – from Guardian