Yoko Ono has lost a legal bid to stop the use of a clip from John Lennon‘s song Imagine in a film sympathetic to ‘intelligent design’.

The theory states that the universe is too complex to be explained by the theory of evolution.

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Ono, her son Sean Ono Lennon, and Julian Lennon – Lennon’s son from his first marriage – had sued the makers of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, claiming they used the song without permission.

But US District Judge Sidney Stein ruled in favour of the film-makers based on a “fair use” doctrine, saying that the defendants would probably win under copyright laws.

In a statement Ono said: “It is a pity that this decision weakens the rights of all copyright owners.”

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The family plan to appeal against the decision.