The newswires report that the judge in the case has ruled that the use of copyrighted materials in the movie Expelled is protected by the “Fair Use” doctrine and that the request for preliminary injunction has been lifted.

NEW YORK — Yoko Ono has lost her Manhattan legal battle to block the use of John Lennon’s song “Imagine” in a film challenging the theory of evolution.

Lennon’s widow had sued the makers of “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” saying they used parts of the song without her permission.

In a decision Monday, federal Judge Sidney Stein says the filmmakers are protected under the “fair use” doctrine. That permits small parts of a copyrighted work to be used without an author’s permission under certain circumstances.