By MATHEW DEARNALEY
Rugby superstar Jonah Lomu is suing TV3 for hitchhiking on his image to promote free-to-air broadcasts of All Black tests.
He is accusing the Canadian-owned television network in the High Court of misappropriating and cheapening his "brand" in a promotional campaign during last year's rugby season.
The network ran advertisements in magazines, on billboards and on the backs of buses from May until at least July with a photograph of Lomu in full sprint with a rugby ball and the caption: "Fortunately he's not charging you - it's free on 3."
Delayed coverage of the All Blacks may have been free to TV3's viewers, but Lomu claims in papers lodged with the court that the network unjustly enriched itself to capture a greater audience at the expense of himself and his company, Stylez Ltd.
The parties this week asked the court to set the case down for a hearing, although a date is at least five months away.
Lomu alleges that TV3's advertisements referred "in a disparaging or mocking way" to the fact that he charges a fee for the use of his brand.
His statement of claim says he and Stylez carefully control the number of licences granted for use of the brand, and the quality and frequency of use.
It claims the network passed off its broadcasting services as endorsed by Lomu, and that the advertisements diminished the value of his brand, including in the eyes of fee-paying licence-holders.
TV3 spokesman Roger Beaumont said the network would defend itself vigorously in court.
He said the major claim against the network, alleging misappropriation of brand, was "a novel claim in that there is simply no New Zealand precedent whatsoever for such a claim".
Mr Beaumont said he was unable to discuss the case in greater detail.
But the novelty value was disputed by a Wellington media lawyer not involved in the case. Richard Fowler said he had acted successfully to protect the brands of several other New Zealanders.
He acknowledged, however, that these were lesser-known figures and their cases were settled out of court.
Mr Fowler said media were entitled to publish images of Lomu to report the news, but their use for commercial promotion was protected by the Fair Trading Act.
The unauthorised use of Lomu's name or image has already prompted several out-of-court settlements, including by Air New Zealand's in-flight magazine, Panorama, and a coaching book that pictured him on its cover.
His manager, Phil Kingsley Jones, said at the time that the coaching publishers "gave us so many thousands and we gave it to [the charitable] Ronald McDonald House".
Lomu also took legal action to stop a couple of small-time investors selling two numberplates bearing his name that they had bought for $340 in 1995.
Mr Kingsley Jones was initially alarmed last year to hear that Wellington artist Maurice Bennett had sculpted a larger-than-life portrait of Lomu from toast, but he calmed down after inspecting the work and deeming it suitably tasteful.
He told the Herald this week that he had also allowed Lomu's image to be added to a mosaic of Lego bricks at the manufacturer's English headquarters, without demanding a fee.
Lomu, who suffers from a severe kidney disease, tried to make a comeback for this month's World Cup but was forced to drop out of Wellington's NPC squad with numb feet and leg cramps.
Among other projects in the pipeline, he is expected to release an autobiography in May.
TV3 adverts cheapened my brand, claims Lomu
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