Yoko Ono vs. Premise Media
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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YOKO ONO LENNON, SEAN ONO LENNON, : 08 Civ. 3813 (SHS)
JULIAN LENNON, and EMI BLACKWOOD :
MUSIC, INC,
Plaintiffs, :
:
-against- :
:
PREMISE MEDIA CORP., L.P., :
C&S PRODUCTION L.P. d/b/a RAMPANT FILMS, :
PREMISE MEDIA DISTRIBUTION, L.P., : and ROCKY MOUNTAIN PICTURES, INC., ::
Defendants.
SIDNEY H. STEIN, U.S. District Judge.
The widow and children of John Lennon bring this action against the producers of a current movie that plays fifteen seconds of the song “Imagine” without permission of the plaintiffs, who own the copyright to the song. The Lennons have moved for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the continued distribution of the movie in its present form and a recall of the existing copies. That motion is denied because plaintiffs have failed to meet the standard required for a court to grant a preliminary injunction. They have not shown a clear likelihood of success on the merits because, on the basis of the current record, defendants are likely to prevail on their affirmative defense of fair use. That doctrine provides that the fair use of a copyrighted work for purposes of criticism and commentary is not an infringement of copyright.
More specifically, plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 65 enjoining [prohibiting] defendants Premise Media Corp., L.P., C&S Production L.P. d/b/a Rampant Films, Premise Media Distribution, L.P., and Rocky Mountain Pictures, Inc., from further distributing their movie, “EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed” (the “movie”), in its present form and to recall the copies of the movie that are currently being exhibited.
Yoko Ono Lennon, Sean Lennon, and Julian Lennon are, respectively, the widow and sons of the late John Lennon, the composer of “Imagine,” and the renewal claimants for the copyright registration to the music and
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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YOKO ONO LENNON, SEAN ONO LENNON, : 08 Civ. 3813 (SHS)
JULIAN LENNON, and EMI BLACKWOOD :
MUSIC, INC,
Plaintiffs, :
:
-against- :
:
PREMISE MEDIA CORP., L.P., :
C&S PRODUCTION L.P. d/b/a RAMPANT FILMS, :
PREMISE MEDIA DISTRIBUTION, L.P., : and ROCKY MOUNTAIN PICTURES, INC., ::
Defendants.
SIDNEY H. STEIN, U.S. District Judge.
The widow and children of John Lennon bring this action against the producers of a current movie that plays fifteen seconds of the song “Imagine” without permission of the plaintiffs, who own the copyright to the song. The Lennons have moved for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the continued distribution of the movie in its present form and a recall of the existing copies. That motion is denied because plaintiffs have failed to meet the standard required for a court to grant a preliminary injunction. They have not shown a clear likelihood of success on the merits because, on the basis of the current record, defendants are likely to prevail on their affirmative defense of fair use. That doctrine provides that the fair use of a copyrighted work for purposes of criticism and commentary is not an infringement of copyright.
More specifically, plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 65 enjoining [prohibiting] defendants Premise Media Corp., L.P., C&S Production L.P. d/b/a Rampant Films, Premise Media Distribution, L.P., and Rocky Mountain Pictures, Inc., from further distributing their movie, “EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed” (the “movie”), in its present form and to recall the copies of the movie that are currently being exhibited.
Yoko Ono Lennon, Sean Lennon, and Julian Lennon are, respectively, the widow and sons of the late John Lennon, the composer of “Imagine,” and the renewal claimants for the copyright registration to the music and