Ozzy Osbourne Sues Ex - Black Sabbath Bandmate Tony Iommi for Merchandise Rights

Ozzy Osbourne is suing his old bandmate, guitarist Tony Iommi, for allegedly taking over the copyright of the name "Black Sabbath" and earning royalties off of the merchandise without sharing fairly with the rest of the band. Osbourne filed suit in a New York court Tuesday that claimed Iommi had negotiated with the band's merchandiser and had cut him and the other band members out of the deal. Ozzy Osbourne's previous royalties were 50/50, according to Fox News.

Ozzy Osbourne issued a public statement Friday for Tony Iommi to "do the right thing." The statement read: "Tony, I am so sorry it's had to get to this point by me having to take this action against you." But, he added, "we've all worked too hard and long in our careers to allow you to sell merchandise that features all our faces, old Black Sabbath album covers and band logos, and then you tell us that you own the copyright."

Tony Iommi, who has not responded to Osbourne's lawsuit, concluded a lawsuit against the merchandiser on Wednesday. It was settled but with undisclosed terms. In that lawsuit, Iommi stated that he had been the only constant member of Black Sabbath in its 41-year history. He also contended that all other Black Sabbath members signed over their rights to the band's name to him in the 1980's.

Ozzy Osbourne's lawsuit contends that he never gave up his rights to the band but even if he had, his rejoining of the band in 1997 gave the band "new direction and success."

Black Sabbath is one of music's enduring legends. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, with many of those albums fronted by Ozzy Osbourne. Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow), Tony Martin, Ray Gillen (Badlands), Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple) and Ian Gillian (Deep Purple) have also sang for the band, but Ozzy Osbourne's is the voice on songs that people most identify with: "Iron Man," "Paranoid," and "War Pigs," among others.

Perhaps the most famous lawsuit of an artist name occurred when Pink Floyd's Roger Waters sued the band he left, calling it a "spent force." After reaching a settlement, where the three remaining members of the band would be able to record and perform under the name of Pink Floyd, the spent force released "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason," which sold millions of copies worldwide.

Ozzy Osbourne is currently working on a studio album to be released later this year.

Tony Iommi has formed another band with Ronnie James Dio called Heaven and Hell, a name they borrowed from the first album Dio sang on with the Osbourne-less Black Sabbath in 1980.

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Sources:

FoxNews.com

Wikipedia.org