Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, has dropped a copyright infringement lawsuit against a documentary which used a song by the former Beatle without permission.

Ono and the record label EMI tried to block the makers of Expelled: 'No Intelligence Allowed’ from using Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ in April.

But in June, Federal Judge Sidney Stein ruled in favour of the film’s producers, Premise Media Corporation, acknowledging that they were protected by the fair use doctrine.

The doctrine allows copyrighted materials to be used in film for the purpose of commentary.

According to Reuters, Ono dropped the case following a number of unsuccessful attempts to overturn the judge's decision.

The film will be released on DVD this autumn without Lennon's song.

(by Jason Gregory)