Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, has lost a court battle to prevent a song by her late husband from appearing in film that challenges the theory of evolution.

Ono and Lennon’s two sons, who were named as plaintiffs, had sued the makers of Expelled: 'No Intelligence Allowed’, saying that they had used Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ without permission.

Yesterday (June 2nd), however, 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.

The film, which was released in US cinemas in April, is due out in Canada on Friday (6th). It will be released on DVD later in the year.

(by Jason Gregory)