Yoko Ono has threatened to sue a small British lemonade firm trying to market a new ‘John Lemon’ drink.
The 84-year-old claims the drink is infringing on the John Lennon EU trademark and the name of her late husband.
However, the company that distributes the product in the UK argues that the lemonade’s name is not linked at all to the Beatles’ legend.
Yoko Ono has threatened to sue a small British lemonade firm trying to market a new ‘John Lemon’ drink (pictured)
Karol Chamera, 30, founder of Mr Lemonade Alternative Drinks Ltd, insists UK sales of the drink have not been linked to Lennon’s name or image.
However, he said fighting the threatened lawsuit was impossible because they simply could not afford to pay Ono’s legal costs.
Mr Chamera, who lives in Bow, east London, told the East London Advertiser: ‘They are trying to find a case because of similarity of the name, but these are two different names, two different brands.’
The John Lemon trademark was registered by the Polish manufacturers of the lemonade in 2014.
Their solicitor confirmed the John Lennon trademark application was not filed until 2016.
Lawyers for Lennon’s widow say the lemonade brand had used the Imagine songwriter’s picture and other references to him in its European marketing on social media.
The 84-year-old claims the drink is infringing on the John Lennon EU trademark
Lawyers for Ono said the firm were ‘abusing and misusing the legacy of John Lennon to sell their soda’
They showed the East London Advertiser a copy of a Facebook post by John Lemon Ireland, which includes a large wall mural of Lennon holding lemons with the brand’s logo underneath.
Other adverts show a pair of round glasses, synonymous with the famous Beatle, next to the words Let It Be and featuring the brand name John Lemon.
This advert was posted on the Facebook and Twitter pages of Mr Chamera’s company Mr Lemonade Alternative Drinks.
The Facebook page also posted a picture of the John Lemon product along with pictures of the Abbey Road Studios.
The Polish company that manufactures the lemonade has now agreed to rebrand the lemonade, in order to continue selling it.
Karol Chamera, 30, (pictured) founder of Mr Lemonade Alternative Drinks Ltd, insists UK sales of the drink have not been linked to John Lennon’s name or image. However, he says they are not able to fight the lawsuit as they cannot pay Ono’s legal costs
Despite his claims, the Mr Lemonade Facebook page posted a picture of the John Lemon product along with pictures of the Abbey Road Studios
A lawyer for the manufacturer confirmed the company and its distributors across Europe were sued by Ono.
Lawyer Hugo Baazinski said the firm was ‘surprised’ by the lawsuit, but said they had decided to reach a settlement.
Joris Van Manen, from law firm Hoyng Rokh Monegier, which acted for Ono, said: ‘They were abusing and misusing the legacy of John Lennon to sell their soda.
‘I believe they are now going to call the drink On Lemon instead, which is much better.’
Ono’s lawyers threatened action against the Polish manufacturers in March this year.
Letters were also sent to distributors, including Mr Chamera, warning they faced costs of 5,000 Euros (£4435) per day or 500 Euros (£444) for every bottle of lemonade sold if they violated the disputed trademark.
Mr Chamera, who runs his business from his flat in Bow, is now being forced to sell all his stock of the special artisan lemonade before the ban starts on October 30.