Don't Mess With Yoko!
Filed under: Music Minute > Legal Matters
As we mentioned last month, Yoko Ono was going to court to prevent the release of a tape featuring footage of John Lennon smoking weed, writing songs, and even discussing putting LSD in President Richard Nixon's tea, from going public.
The footage was taped by Ono's ex-husband Anthony Cox in 1969 for a documentary he planned titled Portrait.
Ono wanted to prevent World Wide Video from releasing the footage it purchased from Cox back in 2000.
World Wide Video planned to release the footage as a two hour film about Lennon, titled 3 days in the life. However, that's never likely to happen as crazed Ono seems to have won the court case.
A U.S. District Court Judge in Boston has ruled in favor of Yoko.
World Wide Video, however, says it purchased the over nine hours of footage for more than $1 million after all the legal costs and fees were covered.
Ono insists she owns the rights, since she claimed she purchased the tapes from World Wide Video through a Florida man.
The case gets a bit confusing around this point, but World Wide Video claims the tapes were stolen and then sold to Ono illegally.
They then sued Ono for copyright infringement in a bid to publicly show them.
The judge disagreed, however, and said, "What the plaintiff suggests just doesn't fit. It seems to me the defendant's motion is well taken because there was no infringement."
The judge also added that WWV waited too long to look into what happened to the stolen tapes which Ono registered back in 2002. WWV claim they didn't discover Ono even had them until they received a letter from her attorneys last year.
The judge added that "The statute of limitations bars the claim as well. The circumstances here really favor the defendant, not the claimant."
Joseph Doyle, the attorney for WWV said the case is still pending as the judge has yet to rule on several other aspects of the case. Doyle insists that the question of who owned the videotapes has not been resolved.
We deserve to see the footage, especially if WWV purchased it legally from the original owner of the videos.
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
[Image via WENN.]
Probably second!
yoko is one weird lady…
first??
FUCK YOU HERMAN MUNSTER HEAD HILTON!
Thirrrrrd???
Why do "we", or you for that matter, deserve to see anything regarding someone's private life?
first!
That fucking cunt.
freaky bitch!~
Thiiird???!!
Really second!
screw you
leave yoko ono alone
let john lennon rest in peace without things being exposed that he most likely WOULDNT want people to see
Jennifer Love Hewitt has awesome tits.
interesting???
Re: Jamie – You fucking Twat.
I don't blame her for not wanting that footage to be shown. Let it be…(no pun intended.)
first*
I LOVE MY BABY
Love yoko!
Re: Loady Smurf – Grow up.
i hate yoko.
If it was intended to be a documentary origionally this isn't a matter of her wanting privacy, it's a matter of her wanting money. Plan and simple. Poor John.
first!!!
she looks like Piaf when she was about 45… and that's not a compliment
FIRST!
Wow…. she is scary. I think I just peed myself.
She's Lennon's EX she can do as she pleases. Who cares about the fucking Beatles and dead wood? Bring on the homos Perez. Lennon could care less for Queers, so fuck him and the Beatles.
33
Re: Bomb ass Phillip Henry! –
At least your a realist….. the dreamer in you has to be screaming "I was First, I was First" though.
ur a fugn hypocrit ph
Being in legal battles is not fun. I admire her for sticking up for her dead husband. Go Yoko!
WTF??? You know, one of the WORST things your site is how INCONSISTENT you are from one story to another. If you have a pic of someone smoking pot, or they got in trouble from pot - you say horrible things about them, draw on their pictures and make bold statements like, "SMOKING KILLS!" Now you're going the complete opposite direction because it's YOKO? WTF?!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
poop
She has $1,000,000,000 so I guess she can do whatever she wants and get her way. To all the assholes who say this footage is private — John Lennon (the VERY public figure) LET it be filmed for a documentary. That means it wasn't meant to be private. So fuck off!
Bridezillas on WEtv 9 eastern Sunday June 1 Watch It!!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
What's so wrong with a little pot smoking???
LIKE 3 DAYS AGO YOU SAID MISCHA BARTON SHOULD GO TO REHAB FOR SMOKING POT!
Yoko Ono has every right to keep something like that from coming out. We all have had our stints with things that are not good for us whether it be alcohol, sex or something else. He did a lot of drugs but ultimately that is not the image neither he nor she wants for him. he was a beautiful man and should be remembered as so not as a drug taking, drug pushing weirdo. Hair Peace Bed Peace. All you need is love
YEAH PEREZ YOU KNOW JOHN LENNON SMOKED WAAAY MORE THAN MICSHA BARTON EVER HAS!
Perez,
You have no idea what you're talking about. Obviously, there is a reason Yoko does not want this footage shown. Please respect her Privacy, her husband's privacy and their family.
I hope you post another bulletin recanting your claim of "We deserve to see the footage, especially if WWV purchased it legally from the original owner of the videos."
Yoko Ono owns Lennon's image and estate, and it is up to her if the world sees any private film of the artist.
Hes dead. shes trying to keep a scandal from happening. Jesus Perez you really have not respect for anyone or anything.
Yoko Ono frightens me. She and her ex-husband Tony Cox have been at war for decades now. Beware the false promise of marriage, kids! Divorce lasts longer than your relationship ever will.
We don't "deserve" to see anything, Perez. Have some RESPECT.
you've gone batshit perez - now pot is ok?? every other story and someone is a pothead and gets nasty comments made about them. I think you need your meds adjusted mario
I think if the widow of John Lennon wants footage of her dead husband to be public, then that shoud be her decison…fuck the money hungry whorish media…you go Yoko!!
Re: Loady Smurf – Thank you. You're a class act.
So it's cool when John Lennon does it, not cool when Wino does it, ok when CO students do it on 4/20, not ok when Lilly Allen does it, and definitely not ok when toddlers do it. Could you please, PLEASE makeup your indecisive mind about your opinions on smoking weed?? (P.S. I don't think toddlers should either).
I can't look at this pig after her total abondonment of Johns' son Julian. He got nada after pops was killed. She cut him out of her and Seans life, probably because she was'nt the biological mom. I'm sure John did not intend for that. What a mother.
Have some respect people! Yoko is a strong woman who saw her husband gunned down before her eyes and now she's like, 70 or something! She has a perfect lil' figure.
at my school last year they were going to premiere a documentary about the beatles with home footage of the members and yoko called threatened to sue, so we never got to see them. i wonder if these cases are related since my school is pretty close to boston…
wtf is that in the pic? a teabag tree?
Yoko is all about being litigious and all not about peace. If she were a peaceful person she wouldn't care about suing anyone who even breathes John's name. So what, he smoked pot. So what he wanted to send Nixon on a trip. The NATION wanted Nixon on a trip…hell, he was ON a trip without drugs. Totally whacko.
Yoko just gets pissed when she isn't making any money out of a deal. She's all about the bucks!
I normally agree with you on things like this, Perez, but not on this issue. We don't deserve to see it at all. If WWV obtained video of someone you dearly love, say, blowing off a bull mastiff, why in the world would we "deserve" to see it? Yoko won this case fair and square.
Re: Fo Realz – True THAT. If he was cool with being filmed, KNOWING it was going to be a documentary…. then why should anyone else care?
Re: FATTY – this is true
There is absolutely nothing wrong with smoking weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!!!!!
i dont get it, perez. you are vehemently anti-smoking, yet you're cool with weed? hypocrite.
She is gross! Die already
"[LSD] went on for years. I must have had a thousand trips. I used to just eat it all the time."
- John Lennon, 1970
.
THIS BEASTLY WHORE IS STILL FIGHTING JULIAN LENNON FROM RECEIVING ANYTHING FROM HIS FATHER'S ESTATE!!!
.
JOHN LENNON WAS ACTUALLY MARRIED TO HIS MOTHER AND EVERYTHING - YET THIS C-WORD IS KEEPING IT IN COURT (FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS) TO PREVENT HIM FROM HAVING ANY ACCESS TO HIS MONEY OR MUSIC!
.
Julian got ripped off.
I love Sean too.
But I don't think that was Yoko's fault–John couldn't deal, as he probably felt guilt for leaving him & his mother.
With that said, Yoko is one bad m-fer!
Just as long as we don't have to hear Yoko sing, that's all I care about.
She is a skank and her supposed art sucks balls. She broke up the beatles.
What more can you say?
Yoko was rightfully called The Dragon Lady by other Beatles and their fans, but you have to hand it to her, she's protected John Lennon's interests for years, before and after his death. I don't blame her. It's private. She's not making any money on it. Personally, I admire her but hate her singing. And…I LOVED John Lennon (named my son after him).
If John was alive he would be shagging Lucy Lu you ugly Pearl Harbor bombing gook-bitch!
Yoko is one crazy bitch. John has been gone for almost 30 years now. If the footage was shot for a documentary, why not release it? Yoko should allow it to be released and then donate profits to charity.
I side with you Perez..we should see John's video. John did LOTS of WAY WORSE THINGS than smoking pot. That's what you mean by 'a little pot smoking' right???
This isn't really gonna open up a scandal or anything. John did worse stuff than this.
society is too mixed up with living in the moment and thinking you can do whatever you want. well you cant! you gotta play by the rules. no wonder kids are getting dumber and dumber - because they're so wrapped up in the lives of other people and they think they are entitled to every f***ing thing! do you know how hard it is to teach america's youth when they think they deserve EVERYTHING under the sun even if its not theirs?…if it's not physically nailed down - they take it and claim it as their own… this is the mindset!
usually when people grow older they grow wiser. normal people dont stay in the 19 year old mind frame all their lives. thank god yoko is using her sense and protecting her deceased husband and not letting america's filth view something that should remain private.
whats the point in seeing it?? is your health going to suffer if you dont? idiots (and by that i mean liberals) want to view it so they can have an excuse to think they can do whatever they want and get away with it…. hey john lennon did it, its okay for me to do it, lets push the envelop and see what we too can get away with.
so what if its controversial and it will rake in bucks. this stuff is polluting peoples minds. you might say,"well he knows better, so its okay to watch" - well they dont know better, trust me!
whats wrong with a little pot smoking? smoking pot leads you to a life of nothing and no gain. unless you're a celebrity who has millions of dollars or someone with an existing established career, chances are if you smoke habitually as a teenager or young adult you'll be stuck on your moms couch for the majority of your life with no motivation to improve.
so lets tell the kids they should see and do everything, tell them to smoke pot, and imprint in their brains that they have a right to live the glamorous life at 12 too, whether they can afford it or not.
cant we try to teach humility and responsibility instead of teaching kids to be garbage?
4. What goes on between Yoko and Julian is none of our business. Maybe she is dicking him over. Maybe she isn't. We don't know what goes on behind the scenes. It's their lives. You don't see Sean losing any sleep over it.
5. Perez, we do not "deserve" to see the footage, you retard. The Lennon legacy does not "owe" the public jack shit. If it were the gov't, then we do "deserve" to see the footage. But a celebrity? Come on now. You're letting this gossip shit get to your head. And you're taking the fun out of gossip. Just wait until all you're doing backfires.
She's weird. And so are you, Perez, for all the sudden saying smoking 420 is fine! I mean, I agree, but you're contradicting yourself.
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Have some respect for Lennon one of the most inspirational musicians that ever lived. No one has the right to see the video exept Yoko
Yoko is the original Courtney Love- sitting on her husband's fortune and unreleased footage/music. She also tried to pass herself off as a singer, only to be revealed as just a hot mess.
"That's my money! Mine!"
- Yoko One (and/or Courtney Love)
Normal next to Heather Mills.
Anthony Cox is a CREEP. In 1971, Yoko was awarded custody of their daughter, Kyoko. He kidnapped the girl and disappeared into some weird religious cult. Yoko didn't see her daughter again for 27 years. This asshole should be in jail!
STOP PICKING YOUR NOSE - AND PICK A POSITION. ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU ARE SAYING - WHAT'S WRONG WITH A LITTLE WEED? THAT IS BECAUSE YOU GOT LAMBASTED WITH COMMENTS BEFORE WHEN YOU WHINED ABOUT HOW WRONG IT IS. FLIP-FLOPPER.
Re: Perez is Lennon…DEAD –
FUCK YOU
I don't know Perez! WHAT IS WRONG WITH A LITTLE POT SMOKING? Seems you like to down and insult celebrities for doing it.