John Lennon’s widow forces bar to change its name 

John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono has sued a bar in Germany forcing it to change its name from ‘Yoko Mono’.

Bar owner Nima Garous-Pour has been using the name for nearly 20 years in Hamburg, where the Beatles first found fame.

But lawyers for Yoko claimed that he had been using her name and identity without legal permission.

Judges at the city’s regional court agreed – and ordered Garous-Pour to remove the sign, even though he had already shortened the name to simply ‘Mono’.

He told local media: ‘I am indeed sad about what is happening here. We hoped that we could keep the name.’

But court spokesman Kai Wantzen said the name ‘Yoko Mono’ is so similar to that of the Beatle’s widow ‘that it was sufficiently likely that an observer would surmise some kind of link between Miss Ono and the bar.’

He added: ‘In any case, the assumption of a mere coincidence is unlikely.’

Now Garous-Pour fears for his other Hamburg bar, called ‘John Lemon.’

Earlier this year 84-year-old Yoko forced British drink maker Karol Chamera to change the name of his ‘John Lemon’ soft drink.

Her lawyers claimed it was an infringement of the John Lennon EU trademark.