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Yoko Ono Lennon, as an artist, on the wrong side of a fair use claim?

By Georgia Harper

Anthony Falzone posts at Stanford's Center for Internet and Society that the Center will represent the producers of the controversial film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed: Fair Use Project to Represent Premise Media Against Yoko Ono Lennon and EMI Records. The plaintiffs in this case want an injunction and they want the 15 second clip of John Lennon's "Imagine" removed from the film. No mention of damages. Falzone says the song is criticized in the documentary for its anti-religion message. Here are some of the lyrics as reported on OldieLyrics.com

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...

It is really hard for me to understand the film producer's use as something other than a fair use/First amendment claim and the two plaintiffs as other than very unhappy that people whose views they don't like are using Lennon's lyrics to make their point (that is, criticizing Lennon's lyrics as exemplifying the social phenomenon they allege -- the suppression of religious views in academe). Could this be any more classically, heart of fair use? What am I missing here?

Full post as published by ©ollectanea on May 14, 2008 (boomark / email).