Touring and ticketing giant Live Nation is being sued by Anthony Iommi, lead guitarist of the veteran heavy metal band Black Sabbath, who is accusing the company of trademark infringement because he claims Live Nation’s Signatures Network subsidiary illegally sold merchandise that carried some of the band’s images.
The lawsuit was filed recently in U.S. District Court in Southern New York, and in it Iommi alleges that Signatures Network continued to sell merchandise bearing band images after a contract between the band and Signatures expired in 2006, according to Bloomberg. Live Nation acquired Signatures Network in 2007.
Iommi’s lawsuit is one of at least two lawsuits filed this year involving Live Nation and Signatures Network. Earlier in the year, the subsidiary’s former chief financial officer, Peter Chantel, sued the company for wrongful termination. Chantel claimed that Signatures fired him in part because he allegedly knew of wrongdoing in which the company was supposedly involved.
Signatures Network sells merchandise for some of the most famous recording artists in the world, including Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, U2, The Beatles, Justin Timberlake and KISS.
Iommi reportedly has maintained the band’s trademarks throughout the years. He wants the company to stop selling the merchandise, and he is seeking damages of at least three-times the profits Live Nation/Signatures Network generated from the sales after the contract expired, according to published reports.
A Live Nation spokesperson said the company does not comment on pending litigation.
