George Clooney Wins Court Case Against Fake Italian Clothing Line

by Justin Fenner | 11:05 am, May 12th, 2011

At long last, justice has been served! After a few months of legal drama, the three men who unlawfully used George Clooney‘s name and likeness to sell a clothing line were convicted of fraud and sentenced to jail time by an Italian judge.

Clooney accused Vanja Goffi, Francesco Galdelli and Vincenzo Cannalire of Photoshopping his face onto another man’s body for the purpose of proving that he’d met with them and approved of their selling a line called GC Exclusive. (Anybody wanna guess what the GC stands for?) During his 90-minute testimony, Clooney pointed out that the man in the photos presented as evidence couldn’t possibly be him, because George Clooney doesn’t wear jorts:

“Here, for instance. I don’t smoke and I don’t wear that watch,” Clooney said. Then after a pause he added, “I also don’t wear long jean shorts.”

And really, aren’t long jean shorts enough of a crime to begin with? The defendants presented a few documents bearing Clooney’s signature, which Clooney said he never signed. Ever charming, the actor said he’d never met any of the defendants before, and then added, “So I’d like to say hello, nice to meet you.”

And under any other circumstances, we would have been thrilled to be on the receiving end of that statement. Provisional damages have been set at €130,000 (about $186,564), but civil proceedings will determine exactly how much the three men will have to pony up.

In addition to the fines, Goffi was sentenced to three years and 10 months of time behind bars. Galdelli got three and a half years, and Cannalire, who served as the fraudulent brand’s executive director, will serve a year and 10 months.

So what did we learn here today? Never use a celebrity’s likeness to hawk your goods — unless they give you express (and legit) written permission. And don’t Photoshop George Clooney in jorts.

[WWD]

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