French brewery withdraws 'John Lemmon' beer after trademark dispute with Yoko Ono
A small French craft brewery from Brittany had to stop selling beer named 'John Lemmon' after a legal dispute with representatives of Yoko Ono, the widow of the former Beatle, who protected the name as a trademark to, according to her, prevent misuse and ridicule of her late husband John Lennon's name.
TL;DR
- A French brewery, "Imprimerie," had to stop selling its "John Lemmon" beer.
- The action was taken after a legal dispute with representatives of Yoko Ono.
- Yoko Ono protected the name "John Lennon" as a trademark.
- The brewery owner, Aurelien Picard, stated the name was intended as wordplay and he was unaware of the trademark.
- The brewery was allowed to sell its remaining 5,000 bottles by July 1st.
- John Lennon's name has been a registered trademark in Europe since 2016.