According to The Hollywood Reporter, KISS frontman Gene Simmons filed an application Friday for a trademark on the so-called “devil’s horns” hand gesture.
According to Simmons, this hand gesture was first used in commerce Nov. 14, 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.”
“Gene Simmons wrote in his 2002 autobiography that it was his accidental invention, the inadvertent gesture of a great man, repeated at concerts and picked up by fans,” Appleford said. “Not likely. Former BLACK SABBATH shouter Ronnie James Dio also takes the credit, first raising the horns before joining the band in 1978. And he’s expressed alarm over the image of Britney Spears fans raising the sign at concerts by the dancing diva of lip-synched pop.”
