The singer Gene Simmonds, front man of the popular band Kiss, is currently attempting to gain legal rights to trade mark the world-renowned rock on hand gesture as his own. The hand signal used worldwide where the pinkie and index fingers are straight, the middle and ring fingers are curled into the palm and the thumb either rests in the palm or is also straight more commonly known as the ‘Devils’ horns’. This symbol is used for a variety of messages/symbols around the globe, one of the main being the sign language for Love and also is also used for an Italian superstition to warn of the ‘Evil Eye’ a spirit believed to be evil and countless more meaning’s. Furthermore, Simmonds claims he was the first to make the symbol on his ‘Hotter than Hell’ tour November 14, 1974 and therefore should have total legal rights to make it into a trade mark.
However, there are buckets of evidence showing other bands have performed the symbol a long time before him such as on the famous Beatles Yellow Submarine album cover in 1966 then again on the album cover of 1969 Psychedellic band Coverns back cover.
Simmonds has a long legal battle ahead for him as it will be extremely hard if not impossible to provide evidence that he was the first to perform the gesture, but claiming a hand gesture as a trademark is not unheard of. Dallas Page (known as Dimaond Dallas Page) claimed the gesture of touching both index and thumb fingers together creating a diamond shape as a trademark in 1990. To stay updated on this case check back regularly on our page as we will be following the action, Rock on!
