STEVE MCQUEEN - MCQUEEN'S ESTATE SUES CLOTHING FIRM

The estate of STEVE MCQUEEN has taken legal action against a clothing company for allegedly using the late actor's image and name without permission. MCQueen's family filed its lawsuit in New York on Tuesday (25Mar08), accusing Clothing Company S.P.A. and its parent company Belstaff of the "willful and brazen unauthorised use of the name, image, signature and likeness" of the Getaway star in its Steve MCQueen Celebration fashion line. The estate also claims a Belstaff employee requested a license to use MCQueen's image in 2007 and, despite being turned down, the company began manufacturing the clothing line anyway. MCQueen died of cancer in 1980 aged 50.