Ad model faces counter lawsuit

Ad model faces counter lawsuit

JAKARTA (JP): A German-Indonesian joint venture cosmetic
company has filed a counter lawsuit at the South Jakarta District
Court against an advertisement model over her statements about
the firm.

The company's lawyer Teguh Samudera said on Wednesday that the
counter lawsuit seeks Rp 2.7 billion (US$771,428) in compensation
for what the company deems as libelous statements from Jihan
Fahira.

Teguh said his client, PT Beiersdorf Indonesia, which produces
Nivea skin care products, also demanded Jihan make an apology in
all the publications that ran her statements.

"We have filed the counter lawsuit at the court in response to
an earlier claim by Jihan," Teguh said.

Jihan, a former model of the company's products, filed a
lawsuit at the court on July 10, demanding the company pay a
compensation of Rp 750 million for an alleged breach of contract.

The model sued the company for still using her as the model of
their products after the contract ended on March 1.

Teguh admitted that the contract with Jihan as a model started
in February, 1995 and ended on March 1 as stated in the contract.

But, he said, the company still has a copyright to use
advertisement materials, such as photos, films and leaflets for
an unlimited time, as is also stated in the contact.

Teguh said the company was still offering to settle the
dispute amicably even though the company has filed a counter
lawsuit against the model. (jun)