Yoko Ono won't let it be, forces "John Lemon" drink to re-brand

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Yoko Ono won't let it be, forces "John Lemon" drink to re-brand

 

Artist Yoko Ono gestures before she was honored as 'Illustrious Visitor' by Mexico City's mayor Miguel Angel Mancera at Mexico City's town hall in Mexico City, February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/Files

 

LONDON (Reuters) - It wasn't exactly instant karma when Beatle John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, heard about a Polish beverage company's new drink called "John Lemon".

 

She threatened legal action alleging that it infringed on the trademark of her late husband.

 

The company has now agreed to change its drink's name to "On Lemon", after lawyers acting for Ono wrote to distributors warning they faced costs of up to 5,000 euros ($5,998) a day and 500 euros for every bottle sold if they infringed the trademark.

 

Lawyers acting for the beverage firm denied it had infringed the late star's rights, but Ono's lawyers pointed to a Facebook post from John Lemon Ireland, which featured an image of the iconic singer.

 

Other marketing materials included the brand's logo next to the words "let it be" and a pair of round glasses, both closely associated with Lennon.

 

John Lemon's lawyers also said that pointed out that their EU trademark had been registered in 2014, two years earlier than the John Lennon trademark was registered in 2016.

 

Karol Chamera, the founder of Mr Lemonade Alternative Drinks which distributed the John Lemon beverage in the UK told the East London Advertiser newspaper: "all of us involved with this product are startups and we couldn’t take on someone who is worth many, many millions."

 

($1 = 0.8336 euros)

 

(Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-09-21

[stevenl]

She is right.

[malibukid]

imagine a parallel universe where John did not meet Yoko

 

[55Jay]

Jack Lemmon is spinning in his grave. 

 

 

[RichardinHuaHin]

Sounds like sour lemons to me.  She is still sour with all that dough.  Could she be sourdough?

[manarak]

wow, the "John Lennon" trademark is registered for alcoholic beverages ?

 

I fear the article is spreading bullshit.

[JHolmesJr]

yoko is loko.

 

how is john lemon an infringement….the onus is on her to prove it.

 

 

[chickenslegs]

1 minute ago, JHolmesJr said:

yoko is loko.

 

how is john lemon an infringement….the onus is on her to prove it.

 

 

Did you read the bit about using his image, his song title, and his iconic spectacles in their publicity?

 

 

[manarak]

 

5 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

yoko is loko.

 

how is john lemon an infringement….the onus is on her to prove it.

 

 

most probably not infringement, I cannot see "John Lennon" being a registered trademark for alcoholic drinks in Poland.

 

but usage of "John Lemon" may be illicit as unfair competition under commercial code as parasitic usage of a well known trademark, but just using a similar name without similar visuals is usually not sufficient to be found guilty.

 

2 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Did you read the bit about using his image, his song title, and his iconic spectacles in their publicity?

 

 

this sounds more like sufficient grounds for a lawsuit.

[iReason]

15 minutes ago, manarak said:

wow, the "John Lennon" trademark is registered for alcoholic beverages ?

I fear the article is spreading bullshit.

 

No.

I fear your reading comprehension is severely lacking.

[JHolmesJr]

2 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

Did you read the bit about using his image, his song title, and his iconic spectacles in their publicity?

 

 

 

no i didnt…thats a problem….but the name is above board…..just stick two lemons in the name where the o's are and theres your logo.

[Damrongsak]

I would have renamed it Uno Lemon.  Sour as hell.

 

Or Old Sourpuss.

[nausea]

Old sourpuss maybe, or could be she's just protective of John Lennon's image, didn't she stop Paul McCartney trying to get first billing on some of the Lennon-McCartney songs.

 

Just to give some context to that last one, a quote from somewhere on the net:

 

"A few years ago, when George was still very much alive, Chrissie Hynde said something in that special way of hers like, "Paul will outlive the other Beatles. Unfortunately." He's going to be left to rewrite Beatle history ... ."

[bendejo]

Imagine if she .... oh wait, I just got a call from her lawyer saying I can't use the first word of this sentence.

 

 

[bendejo]

45 minutes ago, nausea said:

"A few years ago, when George was still very much alive, Chrissie Hynde said something in that special way of hers like, "Paul will outlive the other Beatles. Unfortunately."

Interesting.  Word was that she was buddies with Linda (Paul's first wife) so she knows him personally (as opposed to someone who only sees him from a distance, like most of us), and appears to be unimpressed with him.  Yeah, she always was brash.