The recent spat between Yoko Ono and a Polish drinks company
highlights the importance of registering trade marks.
What happened in this matter was that John Lennon's widow,
Yoko Ono, threatened a small Polish lemonade manufacturer with
legal action. The issue? The product that the Polish company sells
in a number of European countries is called John Lemon. If this had
been all, it's conceivable that Ono may have reacted
magnanimously, viewing the man behind the company as a
working-class hero. There was, however, something in the way the
Polish company used other things – imagery of John Lennon,
imagery of John Lennon-style spectacles and the expression Let
it Be – that made it abundantly clear that it simply saw
the former Beatle as a ticket to ride. It was these things that
made it impossible for Ono to give peace a chance. It was these
things that caused her to – dare we say it – act a bit
like a jealous guy!
