A Polish lemonade company called John Lemon has agreed to change its name to On Lemon after receiving a letter claiming trademark infringement from Yoko Ono’s lawyers, the Guardian reports. Ono claimed the bottles illegally used her late husband John Lennon‘s name and sought damages of 5,000 Euros for every day the bottles continued to be sold. The company must sell its remaining stock of John Lemon bottles by the end October, according to the agreement.
One Facebook post by the brand reportedly showed Lennon’s famous round glasses next to the term “Let It Be” which, of course, is a well-known Beatles song and album. Another advertisement on Facebook reportedly showed a mural of the late musician holding lemons.
“They were abusing and misusing the legacy of John Lennon to sell their soda,” Joris Van Manen, who served as Ono Lennon’s lawyer told the East London Advertiser. “I believe they are now going to call the drink On Lemon instead, which is much better.”
Despite the clear similarities and references, the UK distributor of the drink said the drink has nothing to do with Lennon or the Beatles. “They are trying to find a case because of similarity of the name, but these are two different names, two different brands,” Karol Chamera told the East London Advertiser. “All of us involved with this product are start-ups and we couldn’t take on someone who is worth many, many millions.”
