STANFORD, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Stanford Law School Announcement) - The Fair Use Project of Stanford Law School's Center for
Internet and Society today announced that Yoko Ono and EMI Records have withdrawn all claims filed against Premise Media. The dismissal follows failed attempts by Yoko Ono in federal court and EMI Records in state court to enjoin Premise Media's documentary, 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,' because it uses a 15-second clip of a
John Lennon song.
'We're very pleased that all plaintiffs withdrew their claims,' said Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project and lead counsel on the case. He added: 'We think it was clear from the beginning that our clients had every right to use the 'Imagine' clip as they did, and we're happy we've vindicated that right. The right to use copyrighted material to criticize it is essential to free speech and public debate, and that's what was at stake here.'
'Expelled,' which was released in the United States on April 18, 2008, on more than 1000 theater screens nationwide, explores whether proponents of intelligent design are being discriminated against unfairly in academia and beyond. The film uses a 15-second clip from John Lennon's song 'Imagine' to criticize both the song and the anti-religious message some interpret it to convey-that the world might be a better place without religion.
EMI Records, along with Capitol Records, filed a dismissal yesterday following an August 13, 2008 decision by the New York Supreme Court that denied EMI and Capitol's attempt to enjoin the further showing and distribution of 'Expelled' based on the claim that the film violated their sound recording rights under New York state law. The court concluded that EMI and Capitol were unlikely to overcome Premise's fair use defense and that EMI and Capitol therefore failed to demonstrate a probability of success on their infringement claim.
On June 2, 2008, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected a nearly identical claim from John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and his sons Sean and Julian, who, along with EMI Blackwood Music, alleged that the use of the song clip violated federal copyright and trademark law. The federal court also refused to enjoin the film. After originally appealing that decision, Yoko Ono and plaintiffs withdrew their appeal and then withdrew their claims altogether on September 5, 2008.
'I'm gratified that the attempts to silence our film were unsuccessful, and we want to thank the Fair Use Project and everyone else who worked so hard to preserve our free speech rights, and by extension the free speech rights of all documentary filmmakers,' said Logan Craft, chairman and executive producer of Premise Media.
The Fair Use Project represented Premise Media and the other defendants in the case pro bono, along with the national law firm Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP.
