Videos by American Songwriter
It seems Yoko Ono can’t imagine a world with no possessions either. Upon last week’s release of the documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, starring comedian Ben Stein on the subject of alleged discrimination against scientists and educators who take stock in intelligent design theory, Ono sparked a lawsuit against the filmmakers for the use of the classic Lennon song “Imagine” in the film. Joined with her son Sean Ono Lennon, and John Lennon’s son from his first marriage, Julian Lennon – along with publisher EMI Blackwood Music Inc. – Ono is suing Premise Media Corp., C&S Production LP and Rocky Mountain Pictures for copyright infringement and unspecified damages.
It seems Yoko Ono can’t imagine a world with no possessions either. Upon last week’s release of the documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, starring comedian Ben Stein on the subject of alleged discrimination against scientists and educators who take stock in intelligent design theory, Ono sparked a lawsuit against the filmmakers for the use of the classic Lennon song “Imagine” in the film. Joined with her son Sean Ono Lennon, and John Lennon’s son from his first marriage, Julian Lennon – along with publisher EMI Blackwood Music Inc. – Ono is suing Premise Media Corp., C&S Production LP and Rocky Mountain Pictures for copyright infringement and unspecified damages.
While Premise Media admit to not requesting permission, producers stated they had no obligation to do so since the film’s use of the song employed a “fair use doctrine,” which allows for the use of such copyrighted materials that are in aid of social commentary and criticism. Boston, Ono will participate in a preliminary hearing involving World Wide, a New England co-op of Beatles collectors who paid $1 million for footage of Lennon, according to The Washington Post, “smoking pot, writing songs and discussing putting the hallucinogenic drug LSD in President Richard Nixon’s tea.”
The lawsuit is not the first Ono has launched regarding her late husband. This week in
Oh, Yoko …
