Acclaimed director Woody Allen sued American Apparel Inc. on Monday claiming the company’s advertisements using his image were not authorized; he is seeking damages in excess of $10 million.

Woody Allen says U.S. clothing company American Apparel Inc. used his image on billboards and the internet without his consent. Court documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan allege he was neither contacted by the company, nor compensated for the use of his image.

The billboard ads were displayed in New York and Los Angeles in May 2007 and show Allen, who is Jewish, dressed as a rabbi – an image from one of his films, along with text in Yiddish that translates to “the Holy Rebbe,” reports the Wall Street Journal on its website.

The images also were displayed in advertising on the clothing company’s website and in sponsored advertisements on other websites, the complaint said.

“Allen was unaware that AAI was going to utilize his image on its billboard and Web site,” the lawsuit said, as quoted by the Journal.

“Allen was not contacted, nor did he in any way give his consent to the use of his image and likeness, and he was not in any way compensated for the same, either prior to the infringement or thereafter.”

As the Academy Award winning actor and director “does not commercially endorse any products in the United States of America,” the unauthorized use of his image is “especially egregious and damaging,” the complaint states.

He is seeking damages in excess of $10 million, according to the suit.

American Apparel has not commented yet on the lawsuit.

Allen, 72, is known for films such as “Annie Hall,” “Manhattan,” and “The Purple Rose of Cairo.” His recent works include “Match Point,” “Scoop” and “Cassandra’s Dream.”

His current project, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” stars Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Patricia Clarkson, and Penelope Cruz and is slated for a September 2008 release.