Yoko Ono To Appeal Imagine Ruling

LATEST: YOKO ONO plans to fight her failed lawsuit against a filmmaker who used a clip from JOHN LENNON's song IMAGINE without her permission.

Ono and Lennon's two sons Sean and Julian joined publisher EMI Blackwood Music Inc. to launch legal action against the filmmakers of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

In a lawsuit filed at U.S. District Court in Manhattan, New York in April (08), Ono demanded Premise Media Corporation, C+S Production LP and Rocky Mountain Pictures pull the track from its movie.

But on Monday (02Jun08), U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein found in favour of the filmmakers based on a "fair use" doctrine.

Ono has confirmed she will appeal, saying, "It is a pity that this decision weakens the rights of all copyright owners. One of the most basic rights I control by reviewing and choosing licences is the right to say 'no'. The filmmakers simply looted me of the ability to do so."