The Hollywood Reporter reports:
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons is awaiting the signal from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after he filed an application Friday for a trademark [devil’s horn] [Dana’s note: See picture below].
According to Simmons, this hand gesture was first used in commerce November 14th, 1974. That appears to correspond with Kiss’ Hotter Than Hell tour.
Simmons is claiming the hand gesture mark for “entertainment, namely, live performances by a musical artist; personal appearances by a musical artist.”
Before the Trademark Office allows this hand gesture to be registered — it perhaps wouldn’t be unprecedented — an examiner would consider the likelihood of confusion and, possibly, whether it’s too generic to be associated with Simmons.
…An even bigger question is the extent to which Simmons could enforce trademark rights even if his registration is accepted.
source: hollywoodreporter.com
17 Responses
I think Gene has finally flipped his wig! 😉
For his next act of “marketing genius,” Gene will trademark socks. Some KISStory: Gene first used the term “socks” in Mishawaka, IN during the Hotter Than Hell tour. Prior to that, people simply referred to socks as “sheath that separates one’s foot from the inner sole of a shoe.”
Rock & Roll All Nite and Party E-ve-ry Day, Gene!
at this point he just seems foolish
Dio is who made that what it is today, not Gene, I don’t care what he says…Gene is about the tongue. Funny, that the hand sign was used by Anton LaVey in the 60s before there was a Kiss, and then, Ronnie’s grandmother used it, not as a salute, like LaVey, but as a way of calling out the Devil because the Devil’s greatest talent is hiding in plain sight. In other words, Ronnie is the opposite of LaVey. Now, Gene comes along, and Funkadelic was doing it at the same time as Gene…Gene says he started doing it because he couldn’t make the “I Love You” sign and hold his pic at the same time. But, Gene is making it very tough for me to be his fan right now, I’ll say that.
gene simmons invented patents and trademarks.