Black Sabbath Makes Nice

A dispute between Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi over who owns the rights to the “Black Sabbath” name has been quashed.

“Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi of the legendary heavy metal band Black Sabbath have amicably resolved their problems over the ownership of the Black Sabbath name and court proceedings in New York have been discontinued,” according to a statement.

“Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to cooperate together for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business.”

Osbourne filed suit against Iommi in 2009, alleging that his former bandmate had illegally claimed ownership of the name.
After he was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne was initially replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. In 1997 the guys put their differences aside and Osbourne reunited with the original lineup, helping to return the band “to its former glory” and creating a “worldwide prestige and merchandising value that it would not have had by continuing on the road it was on prior to the 1997 reunion tour,” Osbourne said in a statement after filing the suit.

But during the same period, Iommi, who toured as Heaven and Hell with the early ’80s Black Sabbath lineup, allegedly continued to claim ownership of the copyright, selling merchandise that featured “old Black Sabbath album covers and band logos.”

Ozzy’s suit had requested a 50 percent interest in the trademark and a portion of Iommi’s proceeds from using the name. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.