An MTV camera crew just so happened to be rolling tape at the time and captured Malakian uttering the famous phrase. The snippet was broadcast on MTV in late July and a few weeks later, System Of A Down received a threat of legal action from boxing announcer Michael Buffer.

Apparently, the band didn’t know that Buffer had copyrighted the phrase. According to Buffer’s legal team, System Of A down (or anyone, for that matter) is not allowed to publicly utter that phrase without permission from the copyright owner. Failure to respect the copyright can result in the filing of a claim against the perpetrator.

Don’t laugh. Buffer has already legally slapped the wrists of political gadfly Oliver North and radio shock jock Don Imus, so don’t think he’d just forgive System Of A Down.

The band certainly isn’t taking any chances.

According to its record label, American Recordings, “Not only will the group never publicly utter, ‘Let’s get ready to rumble,’ but they’ve also sworn off ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn,’ ‘I’ll be back,’ ‘Go ahead, make my day,’ and ‘Yeah, baby!’ just in case someone has claimed the legal rights to them.”