OSBOURNE, IOMMI Issue Joint Statement Regarding Resolution Of SABBATH Trademark Dispute

As BLABBERMOUTH.NETfirst reported on June 4, 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.

Osbourne and Iommi have now issued the following joint statement on the matter:

"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. 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."

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.

In a recent interview with Sunday Mercury, Iommi said that he didn't rule out another reunion with Osbourne. Following the death of singer Ronnie James Dio in May, with whom Iommi had been working recently in the SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL, Iommi told Sunday Mercury, "I spoke to Ozzy while I was in Los Angeles after Ronnie's funeral . . . Ozzy and I have a complicated relationship but we've always kept in touch, no matter what else might have been going on. Would I play with Ozzy again? Who knows? It's weird with me and Ozzy."

Iommi added, "There can be all sorts of shit going on but when we talk, it's like nothing bad has ever happened."

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 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.

Ozzy released a new solo album, called "Scream", on June 22 and will 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: