The former face of Lancôme, Uma Thurman, is demanding $1 million US from the French cosmetics brand for having used her photo in foreign advertisements, after her contract expired in 2005, reports E!Online.com.
In response to the complaint filed at the Supreme Court in Manhattan, Lancôme claims that the use of her image was never made consciously or intentionally by the company to promote the product.
A lawyer for the actress, who signed the multi-million dollar contract with Lancôme in 2000, affirmed that the photos were found on Asian and Canadian websites.
Thurman has not officially filed suit against Lancôme, but she is asking for a $1 million compensation and her lawyer, Burt Fields, says that the sum is hardly a punishment for the crime.
"Look at the huge free benefit Lancôme gets from using her," Fields told the Daily News. "The French want to accept that benefit without paying for it."
According to Lancôme’s spokespeople, they would have withdrawn the photos from the website if they had known they existed.