A LEGAL spat appears to be shaping up between tycoon Dickson Poon and movie star Chow Yun-fatt over a contract they sealed six years ago. Matinee idol Chow was signed on by the Dickson Concepts boss to appear in a series of TV commercials for Guy Laroche watches, the contract stipulating that the company had exclusive rights to the actor's services to advertise this particular brand of timepieces for a fixed period of time. The commercials - which also featured Dickson's then wife, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh - were aired in 1987, and the exclusivity clause under which Chow was tied to Dickson lapsed three years later, leaving him free to advertise any other brand of watch should he so desire. So, three months ago, Chow went to China and filmed a commercial for the High Street watch company City Chain, plugging its Solvil et Titus brand, which has featured in both print and TV media in the past few weeks. Lo and behold, in what seems like a clever marketing ploy, Dickson Concepts has resurrected the 1987 commercials, much to Chow's dismay. He said: ''The films and photographs which I made many years ago being published and broadcast in the media at the same time is misleading and causing confusion with the Solvil et Titus commercial. ''I do not know why the old films are and can be used again in the present state as I was not informed or consulted in any way. As this may entail serious legal implications. ''I have instructed my solicitor to take appropriate legal measures.'' The Hongkong actor, who is expected to make his Hollywood debut soon, is worried about the wider repercussions of this matter. He remarked: ''This came as a great shock to me and is causing great concern within my profession.'' Yesterday, when the furore broke, Dickson Poon was somewhere in Europe minding his global business and not available for comment. But Edwin Ing, Dickson Concepts' executive director, told Keeping Posted the company was within its legal rights to re-use the old Guy Laroche commercials featuring Chow. ''We've reviewed the matter with our lawyers and they have confirmed that we have the right to use this particular footage as we choose,'' said Ing. He added, however, that the ''exclusive period'' that bound Chow to Guy Laroche had lapsed and the actor was free to offer his commercial services to anyone. This one will run and run.
