John Lennon's widow loses 'Expelled' case |
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Wednesday, 23 July 2008 08:00 PM America/New_York |
Yoko Ono, the widow of deceased Beatle John Lennon, has lost her battle against the producers of the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Shortly after the film's theatrical release, Ono brought suit against Premise Media for including John Lennon's song “Imagine” in their documentary. Ono was seeking damages for alleged copyright infringement because the song had not been licensed for use in the film, but last month a federal court in Manhattan denied her request for an injunction that would have forced the film out of theaters nationwide. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, starring author and actor Ben Stein, is a documentary exploring the origins of life. The film debuted at No. 10 at the box office, earning nearly $8 million. "We came out of the gate with strong momentum only to have our integrity questioned by this frivolous lawsuit," said John Sullivan, one of the film's producers, adding that the film would be re-released this summer, "this time without an undeserved cloud over its head."
Actor Stein said: "I'm not related to Judge Stein in any way, but we are related in this sense: we are both fans of the first amendment, and I am grateful that the legal system set aside this attempt to shut our film up."
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