Brad Pitt is threatening legal action against anyone who will publish recent photographs that were taken by the paparazzi of the actor and his family at their residence.

According to a letter published by the U.S. Web site The Smoking Gun, Pitt’s lawyers said that the pictures were “surreptitiously” taken by paparazzi who used a powerful telephoto lens. The pictures were sold to an unidentified buyer.

“The taking of the Photos constitutes a malicious violation of Mr. Pitt’s privacy, including under the laws of California and France,” the attorney of the high-powered Los Angeles-based law firm Lavely & Singer says. Pitt’s lawyer, Yael Holtkamp also said  that one agency had already sold or licensed the images but agreed to “cease and desist from any further sale and dissemination” of the pictures and removed them from its Web site.

Last week, Jolie, 33, gave birth to twins at a hospital in France. The babies, a boy, Knox Lenox, and a girl, Vivienne Marcheline, were delivered via Cesarian section. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt already have a daughter together - Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, who was born in Namibia in 2006 and three other adopted children: 6-year-old Maddox, 4-year-old Pax and 3-year-old Zahara.

Pitt and Jolie have reportedly sold exclusive picture rights to the first photographs of their newborn twins to a U.S. publication for $11 million (5.5 million pounds), Reuters notes. They will give the money to charity.