Yoko Ono's attempt to stop Premise Media's documentary 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed' from using a 15 second clip of John Lennon's song 'Imagine' has been rejected by a court.
In a ruling today, Judge Sidney H. Stein of the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York rejected Ono's request for injunction against the movie."This case is not just about fair use, it is about free speech," explained Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project and lead counsel on the case, in a statement. "The right to use portions of copyrighted works in order to criticize them and discuss the views they represent lies at the heart of the fair use doctrine because that right is essential to the free flow of ideas, thoughts, and debate."
Ono, and Lennon's sons Sean and Julian, filed a suit on April 22 claiming the unauthorized use of the song in the documentary.
EMI Records Ltd and Capitol Records LLC also took action against the defendants. That motion is still pending.
"We are happy that Judge Stein has removed this legal impediment to our continued distribution of Expelled," said Logan Craft, chairman and executive producer of Premise Media. "Yoko Ono attempted to stifle free speech. We look forward to the movie's Canadian release on June 27, our expanded theatrical run in the U.S. this summer, and its DVD release this fall."
