Universal City Studios Productions is suing a gossip blog that published topless photos of Jennifer Aniston.

The Hollywood studio has asked a Californian court to ban further publication of the pictures, order them to be returned and award damages. It is claiming they were illegally stolen and copied during the making of The Break-Up, in which Aniston starred.

They were published on the Perez Hilton website, run by Mario Lavandeira. His lawyer said he had "done nothing wrong".

He said Lavandeira removed the picture when he learned it could have been stolen. He added: "The use of a portion of a single photograph that was previously published on numerous websites, for the purpose of commentary and satire, constitutes fair use."

Lavandeira, through the blog, has previously insulted the former Friends actress. His lawyer added: "Our client questions whether this lawsuit was in fact motivated by Ms Aniston as a result of her disdain for viewpoints expressed about her on the site."