OZZY OSBOURNE, TONY IOMMI Settle BLACK SABBATH Trademark Dispute

June 4, 2010

Ozzy Osbourne told The Pulse of Radio recently that a lawsuit between him and guitarist Tony Iommi over the use of the BLACK SABBATH name has been settled and that everything is now okay between them. With that cleared up, The Pulse of Radio asked Ozzy if there was once again a chance for the original SABBATH lineup to get together again. "Well, I never say never," he said. "I mean, I've got a few ideas, but we'll see what happens, you know. We did try and do another album, but we've all changed so much and it's — if you don't do an album that blows the doors off the last one that we did together, then it's gonna be looked upon as a joke, you know."

The original SABBATH lineup of Ozzy, Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward has not toured together since the summer of 2005, and last convened for their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in early 2006.

The group did try to record a new album 11 years ago, their first since 1978, but abandoned the attempt after just a couple of songs.

Iommi and Butler have toured and recorded since 2007 with latter-day SABBATH singer Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice under the name HEAVEN & HELL, until Dio's death last month from stomach cancer.

Ozzy will release a new solo album, called "Scream", on June 22 and headline Ozzfest later this summer.

Ozzy filed a lawsuit against Iommi in May 2009, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Osbourne sued Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.

The Manhattan federal court suit also charged that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.

Lawyer Andrew DeVore argued that Osbourne signed away all his rights to the BLACK SABBATH trademark after he quit the band in 1979.

Osbourne's lawyer, Howard Shire, called that agreement a "red herring" that was "repudiated" when the singer rejoined in 1997 and took over "quality control" of the band's merchandise, tours and recordings.

BLACK SABBATH "reunion" promotional photo (1999):

BLACK SABBATH live in 2005:

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