Harvey Weinsten will have to face a lawsuit from a British actress, who accuses him of breaking sex trafficking laws by inviting her to a French hotel room and assaulting her.

A federal judge in New York denied the disgraced film producer's attempt to dismiss Kadian Noble's case and it will now proceed to trial.

Judge Robert Sweet said on Tuesday the case was "not an archetypal sex trafficking action" but that the claims "plausibly establish" that Weinstein violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

The lawsuit claims Weinstein "was able to force or coerce Kadian into sexual activity in his hotel room because of his promise to her of a film role and use of his influence on her behalf".

She says she was forced to perform a sex act in the hotel room in Cannes in 2014.

The producer's lawyers pushed for the case to be thrown out, arguing that trafficking laws were meant to cover "commercial" sex acts and did not apply because Noble had not been offered anything of value in the alleged encounter.

However, Judge Sweet said the promises of a movie mogul such as Weinstein would have been very valuable to Noble and that his lawyers' argument "does not reflect modern reality."

Noble is one of more than 70 women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, including rape, in incidents going back decades.

Most of the women were young actresses or others working in the film business.

He is also facing criminal charges in a Manhattan court, alleging rape and sexual assault, relating to three women.

Weinstein denies assaulting any women or forcing them into sexual activity.