The widow of The Beatles member John Lennon, Yoko Ono, has demanded the French brewery L’Imprimerie stop selling craft beer named John Lemon, citing a violation of her registered trademark. This was reported by the brewery owner Aurélien Picard, as stated by The Guardian.
According to him, the company had been producing lemon and ginger-flavored beer with a label referencing John Lennon as a joke and a tribute for five years. However, in April 2026, the brewery received a letter from Ono's lawyers demanding an immediate cessation of the use of the name under the threat of a fine of up to €100,000 and €1,500 for each day of violation.
After negotiations, the company was allowed to sell off the remaining approximately 5,000 bottles by July 1, after which the use of the name must cease. According to Picard, the beer is selling out quickly.
Yoko Ono had previously taken similar legal actions. In November 2017, DailyMail reported that the artist sued a bar in Germany, demanding it change its name from "Yoko Mono." The bar owner, Nima Garus-Pur, had used this name for nearly 20 years in Hamburg, where The Beatles first gained fame. Local judges agreed with Ono's lawyers that he had used her name and persona without legal permission.
