By Design? - Big row over Big B's KBC sui

The designers say the company used images of Amitabh Bachchan wearing their creations in a TV commercial without their permission. The outfits were made for the TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati II.

"This is a clear case of misrepresentation of facts and we're sending a legal notice to Reid & Taylor for this," says Shantanu. "First, it's a copyright violation. Second, it amounts to our brand dilution. Third, it misleads the public."

The designers say initially they were asked to make 50 outfits for Bachchan for the show. Later Star Plus asked them to make another 22. "It asked us to use Reid & Taylor fabrics for the additional 22 outfits," says Shantanu. "What surprised us was that Reid & Taylor not only used our creations from the first batch -- where we didn't even use its fabrics -- it's also showing four or five outfits from it in the commercial, saying 'wardrobe by Reid & Taylor'."

Reid & Taylor, meanwhile, says it has not done anything illegal. "First, Star TV provided us with the images, as we don't have any access to them," says Tarun Joshi, communications custodian, Reid & Taylor's. "Then, we made the commercial using the images provided to us. Later, it was sent to the US for approval by KBC's principals and only after proper approval from everyone did we start airing it. If the designers felt something was wrong, they should've contacted either us or Star for clarification. We haven't heard from them till now."