Yoko Ono, the widow of slain Beatles star John Lennon, is filling a lawsuit against singer/songwriter Lennon Murphy for using the name "Lennon" as the name of her band.
An attorney for Ono filed a petition last week with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office seeking to cancel a trademark Murphy took out in 2003 for "Lennon" as the name of her band.
Lennon is a very common name in Ireland.
Murphy, whose birth name is Lennon, said she spoke to Ono and her attorney in 2000 when she first signed to Arista Records.
According to Murphy, the label was concerned about the name issue and sent her product manager, Justin Shukat (reportedly the son of Ono attorney Peter Shukat), to approach Lennon's widow. Ono supposedly gave her approval, clearing the way for the Tennessee-born Murphy and her eponymous band to release their album, 5:30 Saturday Morning.
According to Murphy, Ono's change of heart came two days before the statute of limitations was due to run out.
Murphy has expressed her distress with the situation on her blog on MySpace and on her website, www.lennononline.com.
Murphy has one key person in her corner.
Julian Lennon, John's son from his marriage to first wife Cynthia Lennon, himself a singer-songwriter who has had his own run-ins with his stepmom, posted Murphy's message on his MySpace blog and expressed sympathy for her situation.
"This is NOT about me but about a girl named 'Lennon,' " writes Julian, 44. "She has my full support."
