'No plan' to call Woody witnesses

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Woody Allen's wife and ex-partner will not be called to testify in a trademark infringement trial, lawyers for the company he is suing have said.

Allen claims US company American Apparel used his image on adverts without his consent.

The firm's legal team have dismissed reports that they would bring up his relationships with Soon-Yi Previn and Mia Farrow as part of their defence.

The trial is scheduled to start on Monday in New York.

The 73-year-old filmmaker is seeking more than $10m (£6.6m) in damages, a figure contested by American Apparel.

The dispute arose after the company used an image of Allen from his 1977 comedy Annie Hall on one of its hoardings.

'Social statement'

The director, who does not endorse products in the US, said he had not authorised the use of the image, which depicted him dressed as an Hasidic Jew.

Lawyers for the filmmaker had sought to block Ms Previn and Farrow being called to give evidence, claiming such moves were "part of a brutish attempt to smear and intimidate".

On Thursday, however, American Apparel's lawyer Stuart Slotnick said the company had "no intention of calling Mia Farrow or Mr Allen's wife as witnesses".

Instead, he said, the trial would focus on the right to free speech.

"At trial we will explain how the use of the image from the Annie Hall film was used to make a social statement and address social issues that were already subject to public discourse," he continued.

In 1992, Allen's then-girlfriend Farrow discovered he was having an affair with her adopted daughter Soon-Yi, then 22.

The acrimonious breakdown of their relationship created headlines around the world that, Mr Slodnick earlier alleged, made the image worth less than the director claims.

In a motion filed earlier this month, however, Allen argued his personal life had no bearing on whether American Apparel unlawfully used his image.

The company has apologised for using his image in the billboards which were soon taken down.