.

Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi Sues Live Nation For Copyright Infringement

December 17, 2008 12:35 PM ET

Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi has sued Live Nation after the concert giant sold merchandise using the band's logo after their contract had expired. Live Nation bought merchandise company Signatures in 2007 for $79 million. Unfortunately for Live Nation, however, Black Sabbath's contract with Signatures expired in 2006, and Tony Iommi reclaimed the band's trademark. Live Nation and Signatures, Iommi alleges, continued to sell over 100 items of merchandise featuring the band's likeness, name and logo. Iommi says he sent a letter to the companies in April, asking them to stop selling their merchandise. They didn't, so now the guitarist has taken it to court, asking for damages in the amount of three times the profits from the merchandise sales, plus a halt to the Black Sabbath product sales. Live Nation has declined to comment on the case. However this ends up, it's safe to assume that if Black Sabbath should ever reunite with Ozzy Osbourne, Ticketmaster will likely handle the ticket sales.

Related Stories:
Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Judas Priest Prove Their Metal Mastery on Long Island
Dio's Black Sabbath Readies Box Set; Heaven & Hell Plan New Album, Tour
Black Sabbath Bring the Rock at Radio City

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

prev
Music Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus
Daily Newsletter

Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
marketing partners.

X

We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

Song Stories

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz | 2008

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."

More Song Stories entries »