Al Pacino Robert De Niro

Actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have sued film distributor and a German Watchmaker Company for alleged false misuse of the actors’ images for promotional purposes. The lawsuit filed by the actors stated that although Tutima watch advertisements had a tie up with 2008 film “Righteous Kill,” the actors were shown in the advertisements in such a manner as to suggest that they endorsed the watch brand.

Robert and Al Pacino are seeking damages from Overture Films, based in Los Angeles, California, and Tutima Inc, a German watchmaker. There were a series of promotional campaingns which included one advert showing the actors’ faces. Their names were used above a picture of a Tutima watch as well. Then a video clip from “Righteous Kill” was surfaced which was made to appear on Tutima’s website. All these factors were stated in the lawsuit filed by the actors.

“De Niro’s and Pacino’s policies concerning commercial endorsements and tie-ins are common knowledge in the entertainment industry,” the lawsuit said. “Defendants’ actions have damaged De Niro’s and Pacino’s valuable reputations and diminished the commercial value of their name and images.” The lawsuit cleared out few points which validated the suit.

The lawsuit said : De Niro only endorsing a product or service “under very specific and compelling circumstances.” Pacino, over the course of his lengthy career, has never commercially endorsed any product or service in the United States.”

Neither Overture nor Tutima could be reached for comments on the legal proceedings or other datas. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, seeks monetary damages for breach of contract, violations of right of publicity and right of privacy laws in an amount to be determined at trial.