Expelled Sued
Offline Yoko ono is sueing the producers of Expelled for using john's song Imagine. Here's the entire Article. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hlCmrQJO7lSHjdN0BtU_ZANKDLugD9080R5G0
Yoko Ono sues in NY over song in movie challenging evolution
NEW YORK (AP) — Yoko Ono is suing the producers of a movie that challenges the concept of Darwinian evolution, saying they used the song "Imagine" without her permission and led the blogosphere to accuse her of "selling out."
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan, Ono accuses the producers of "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" of suggesting to viewers that those who guard John Lennon's legacy somehow authorized or sponsored the film.
The producers of the film, which features Ben Stein challenging Darwinian theories that prevail in academic circles and suggesting that life could have emerged through intelligent design, said they used only "a very small portion of the song."
"Based on the fair use doctrine, news commentators and film documentarians regularly use material in the same way we do," Premise Media said in a statement. "Unbiased viewers of the film will see that the 'Imagine' clip was used as part of a social commentary in the exercise of free speech and freedom of inquiry."
Ono's lawsuit claims the producers did not ask for permission either because they knew they couldn't get it or because they did not want to pay for the rights. It objects to the way "Imagine" is listed in the film's credits, saying it suggested to members of the news media and others that the song's use had been approved.
"Internet 'bloggers' immediately began accusing Mrs. Lennon of 'selling out' by licensing the song to defendants," says the complaint, filed this week.
The lawsuit calls "Imagine" Lennon's signature song, saying it "has become closely associated with and is synonymous with John Lennon."
The complaint, which also names other firms involved with the movie, asks the court to stop the filmmakers from distributing, selling and promoting the movie, and it seeks financial damages. It was filed on behalf of Ono, Lennon's sons Sean and Julian, and EMI Blackwood Music Inc.
"Expelled" earned the No. 10 spot at the box office this weekend, bringing in nearly $3 million in its first weekend in wide release. Stein, an actor, quiz show host and former speech writer for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, has been visiting some state capitals to screen the movie for lawmakers.
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Matt already posted this, but it didn't include the following two paragraphs, so I'll comment here.
They're screwed. Most people think there's a four bar limit on sampling, but that's a general rule that applies only to themes and basically defines outright infringement. In this case, they used the original form of the song. Also, "fair use" does not apply to documentaries. It applies to educational institutions and only to a certain extent to the press.
Yoko Ono is going to crush these fuckers. A lawyer straight out of school wouldn't break a sweat on this one. I can't wait to hear about the settlement. I hope it's exactly what they made on the movie. Think about how hosed The Verve got by the Stones' lawyers after "Bittersweet Symphony". That sample wasn't even from the original version of the song!
They're so crushed. I hope Yoko takes them for their entire profit on the movie, and maybe $20 over and above that for parking.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
What's sad is that all the YEC proponents will see this as an attempt to stop the "truth". It will just bring on more of the "stop persecuting me" mentality.
"I am an atheist, thank God." -Oriana Fallaci
I think it's safe to say that they'll never stop that ridiculous line. Wait until they're *actually* persecuted. Then the howling's going to get really pathetic.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
You realise that now every xtian around here is going to accuse you of wanting them persecuted.
Like I said in the original thread, they really are amazing. I can see it..
Expelled newsletter:
Dear brothers and sisters in christ,
I hope you will continue praying for me during me time of persecution by the secular goverment on the trumped up charge of breaking a law. These ridicoulous 'laws' are obviously satan isnpired devices to test and reveal the true chosen of god, that they may be tortured for his glory. Continue to send money for my legal fee.
Psalm 14:1 "the fool hath said in his heart there is a God"-From a 1763 misprinted edition of the bible
Argument from Sadism: Theist presents argument in a wall of text with no punctuation and wrong spelling. Atheist cannot read and is forced to concede.
GO, Yoko, GO Yoko, GO Yoko...
Conor
I'm good with that. If they didn't use the true scotsman fallacy so much, maybe they'd realize how many of them there are, and that they're in the majority in the western world. Maybe then the whining would stop. Oh, wait - then they wouldn't be all vicariously crucified. What Would Jesus Do? Get tortured, nailed to something and then get stabbed with a spear. Great. Thanks for coming out, guys.
I really can't wait to see what kind of money they pay out to Yoko (and children). I want to see damages, legal fees, travel costs, wear-and-tear, dental floss, depreciation, wardrobe & hair, medical - the works. Using the holocaust scene in that movie alone deserves more monetary persecution than I can Imagine.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
If so, then maybe a government will be set up that will destroy all the churches, incarcerate all the members of such said religious beliefs, then either kill them, torture them and have them convert to the government based beliefs (be it communism, socialism, facisim or any other many forms of beliefs in which the government persecutes believers such as in china, many theocratic government that may persecute christians or others of different beliefs etc, etc, etc)
Yeah let them cry fowl, they don't know shit about being persecuted, not being allowed to have prayer in school, is not persecution, not having the 10 commandments on government property isn't persecution, having your beliefs told that they are lies and that your brainwashed, isn't persecution, it's the truth but not persecution (remember freedom of speech, doesn't mean that you get to say whatever you want and no one can disagree) So let them whine like little babies, one they their own beliefs might come back and bite them in the ass (you know get the catholic church in power and see how much persecution does occur, because evangelicals, baptists, JW, Mormons and all the other little sects of christianity aren't real churches because as far as the pope is concerned you ain't part of the original church) so yeah there ya go.
Individual students may pray their little hearts out any time they see fit (within the reasonable boundaries of school order).
Not being allowed to force students into prayer is what's not allowed, and if that's persecution then I'm persecuted for not being allowed to make all the students say "There is no god, all religions are make-believe." before the start of each class.
I really loathe the liars for christ.
"Anyone can repress a woman, but you need 'dictated' scriptures to feel you're really right in repressing her. In the same way, homophobes thrive everywhere. But you must feel you've got scripture on your side to come up with the tedious 'Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve' style arguments instead of just recognising that some people are different." - Douglas Murray
Paraphrasing the late, but forever great Frank Zappa: Sue the FUCK out of religion!
Yoko, you are effing metal!
- Leon Trotsky, Last Will & Testament
February 27, 1940
I'm not exactly sure where you're getting this information. The description of fair use states: "the fair use of a copyrighted work . . . for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." (from the copyright act of 1976). I don't think that documentaries would be necessarily excluded. I know a couple of years ago, A&E made a biography of Peter Graves, including a few segments of clips from his movies, and that was found to be fair use.
I don't think that the expelled people have a very strong case here, but there aren't many bright line rules when it comes to fair use. Copyright in general tends to be a very squishy topic, since it's not as easy to define as real property or personal property.
I am honestly conflicted about this becuase I never liked the idea of having to pay for the use of a song for a film especially when it the cost of snippets like millions of dollars or at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. I mean, its kinda unfair to allow pretty much anyone to buy 15 songs for 15 bucks that they can listen to in their liesure but once a director wants to put it into a movie the prices jumps up to hunreds of thousands of dollars? That is bullshit. On the other hand, you should at least ask for permoission to use the song and explain how exactly the song will be used and I'm guessing that the producers of Expelled did not even do that so . . . its still kinda sad that the one person sueing the producers is Yoko Ono, who is rather unstable herself, and it is for the use of a song. There are more signifigant reasons to sue the producers, such as, allowing someone with no Scientific credentials go around from place to place totally misrepresenting a valid scientific theory for a clearly self-serving goal maintaining that it is in the name of science that he does so. This would never be allowed to get this far if he was going around misrepresenting Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp and they are mostly window dressing for commerical films (save for Fight Club which was freakin awesome!)
" Why does God always got such wacky shit to say? . . . When was the last time you heard somebody say 'look God told me to get a muffin and a cup tea and cool out man'?" - Dov Davidoff
I was mislead - someone told me they weren't commenting on the song itself, merely using it as backdrop. It seems that's not the case, and they were commenting on it after all, which would mean it probably qualifies as fair use. My bad.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
It's probably going to end up being protected under the fair use doctrine. The song wasn't used for entertainment value, but rather as part of a social commentary (the line "and no religion too" is juxtaposed with images of totalitarian leaders).
Yoko is just making a spectacle. After all, that's how she's made a living for the past 40 years.
Agree or disagree, it's constitutional.
And as much as sometimes everyone feels it would be great to sue someone for being an asshole, it's good that you can't do that.
No kidding. As much as I appreciate the sentiment that she doesn't want her late husband associated with a piss-poor documentary, it's not like she's never done something unfounded just to bother people.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
This site and other atheist sites have used material from Christian sites to criticize someone or something. Case and point is the garbage Uri Geller tried to pull when RRS pointed out his bullshit scams.
I am not against the movie makers doing this from a legal sense. But from an intellectually moraly honest sense they are bankrupt. The entire intent of the movie is to put the myth of Christianity on the same par as scientific method.
What these idiots DONT seem to understand, is that questioning by science is welcome. It is a form of quality control to insure that no bias creeps into the process.
This is Hollywood making a profit of the ignorance of the laymen. They are utilizing the "underdog, victim" motif to make a buck. Scientific method is universal and can be taught to the atheist, Jew, Muslim and Christian. It is not an agenda. EXPELLED is, and not even for religious reasons, EXPELLED is making a buck off the emotional appeal of laymen. "Don't pick on my hero".
"Why wont they listen to me"
Why? Not because science hates Christians OR MUSLIMS OR JEWS, we simply don't nor should humanity dwell on myth.
"Expelled" could be written by Scientologists or Buddhists, and the intellectually honest person should understand, " NO ONE HATES YOU. BUT IF YOU ARE GOING TO TURN SCIENCE INTO KRIPTONITE, WE MUST OBJECT".
Ben is nothing but another apologist. If "Expelled" is strictly about a generic god, then which one Ben?
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
I say it's simple, just make them sit through one hour of Yoko singing....
They'll pay, oh yes, they'll pay...
LC >;-}>
Christianity: A disgusting middle eastern blood cult, based in human sacrifice, with sacraments of cannibalism and vampirism, whose highest icon is of a near naked man hanging in torment from a device of torture.
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
yes, imagine it. it would be great.
They've played that song at the beginning and end of every weekly broadcast of Freethoght radio since it started about 2 years ago.
Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team
I find myself wondering, since I.D. proponents claim that I.D. is not, in anyway, afilliated with any religion and is purely science, how such a motif even makes sense? Surely Newton was a genious and articulated the foundation for physics but he is hardly a hero. Of course I am giving I.D. proponents too much credit by using I.D. and Newton in the same sentence . . . . they are clever bastards!!!!
" Why does God always got such wacky shit to say? . . . When was the last time you heard somebody say 'look God told me to get a muffin and a cup tea and cool out man'?" - Dov Davidoff
Ya know, until now I didn't really like Yoko Ono.
I actually really like Yoko. I'm of the (minority) opinion that she was the best thing that ever happened to the Beatles. She broke them up, so they went out on top with a solid record (Let it Be...again, a minority opinion), and we got a ton of killer solo stuff from George, Paul, and John that may not have seen the light of day had they stayed with the Beatles.
Right, so we have to let them hang themselves with as much rope as possible. From what I've heard, they've already embarassed themselves with a trip to the gas chambers. That's unspeakably bad.
Uh, the right one, of course. Don't you know anything? Jeez.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
I thought i would share some stuff i found recently about the movie...
I found the youtube video to be hilarious
I thought that the jewish man was ignorant but was only doing what he thought he should do with the closed minded information he had...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vOT6UDERug
http://richarddawkins.net/article,2488,Open-Letter-to-a-victim-of-Ben-Steins-lying-propaganda,Richard-Dawkins
http://www.glumbert.com/media/ruinmuseum
I have tried to post a link for Scientific America and an article but it doesn't seem to work to go to http://www.sciam.com/
and search for:
Six Things in Expelled That Ben Stein Doesn't Want You to Know...