Universal City Studios Productions LLLP filed the suit Tuesday, claiming the stolen image was posted on the Perez Hilton Website by Mario Lavandeira, aka “Perez Hilton,” reports the Associated Press. The lawsuit alleges that the photo was “misappropriated and illegally copied” during the making of Aniston’s hit flick, “The Break-Up,” also starring her ex-Vince Vaughn. The shot of Aniston, 38, was not included in the final version of the movie, which makes the leak much more significant.
According to the AP, the lawsuit claims copyright infringement and was filed in U.S. District Court.
“The suit seeks an injunction barring further distribution of the picture and requests a court order “directing the U.S. Marshal to seize” the copyrighted material from the 28-year-old blogger,” the AP further reported. The complaint demanded a jury trial and monetary damages to be determined by the court.
The Gossip Girls reported that the photos had begun to circulate in a February 11th article. The lawyers attempted a preemptive strike, hoping to stop the release of any of the nude pics. Perez Hilton obviously didn’t take those threats seriously, unless he thought the PR was worth the money he is going to end up shilling out to make this mess go away.
It is important to revisit an incident occurring last September, when Aniston and celebrity photographer Peter Brandt settled a lawsuit regarding topless photos Brandt shot of the actress in late 2005.
“It’s a confidential settlement,” Aniston attorney Jay Lavely said. “The matter was amicably resolved.” Amicably, as in Aniston most assuredly got paid a pretty penny by the photog to bring an end to the costly legal proceedings.
In the lawsuit with Brandt, Aniston alleged that he used “invasive, intrusive and unlawful measures” to capture the images. Brandt said he took the photos while standing on a public street about 300 yards away from Aniston’s home.
