Les Lobsey, who has had a long-running battle with Liverpool Plains Shire Council, failed in his attempt to sue the local government body for more than $2 million for using his name in mail correspondence.

Mr Lobsey claimed he had trademarked his name and, under a self-executing contract, council would be liable for an initial $500,000 and then a further $1 million every time it used it.

A NSW Supreme Court judge last month dismissed Mr Lobsey’s case and labelled it “plainly hopeless”.

But Mr Lobsey has vowed to appeal the decision, and his partner, Lee Rumble, denied his complaint was vexatious.

“He’s not being a pest, he’s trying to get rights and freedoms back for everyone,” Ms Rumble said.

“In 1930, whenever a mum had a baby they had to sign a birth certificate and the government then placed that on the New York Stock Exchange as a commodity.

“So Les decided to copyright his name and everything about him – his body, hair, fingerprints, DNA, everything.”

His chief objection, she said, was to government bodies sending letters with his name in upper case.

“He wants it to be in lower case, because if it’s in upper case you are classed as a dead person,” Ms Rumble said.

“We are not dead, we are living people ... that’s all he’s asking people to recognise.”

She said he regretted costing taxpayers money through the court system but was prepared to stand on a matter of principle.