That guy with the ridiculous tongue is off his kilter. He wants to trademark the two-finger+thumb gesture that you see in concert crowds.
Not Kiss concerts, all manner of concerts, everywhere. Except, I suppose, Chris Cross or the London Philharmonic – most of the time. Why the ever loving fuck does this guy think he ought to own this? If anyone should, it would probably be Ozzy, but it is so pervasive that trademarking it is just out of bounds.
So, Chaim, I say take those fingers and simultaneously shove them into various orifices about your body. You are one more shithead example of what is wrong with this country. Well, one of the things, anyway.
Say what you want about Gene, but he’s no moron. He’s marketed KISS to the absolute extremes and has never been embarrassed or ashamed for doing so. He’s made a fortune out of his various marketing ploys. I’d actually call him a genius for popularizing and making a shit load of money from a three-chord group that wouldn’t sell out a small town hockey rink if it wasn’t for all the makeup and marketing gimmicks over the years.
I don’t think he will ever be successful in trademarking this gesture, but once again, it’s got everyone talking about KISS, and that’s just what Gene wants.
It’s all absurd anyway - the gesture itself dates back thousands of years, and Coven was using it in a rock context before Kiss was even a thing. You may as well try to trademark the handshake or the thumbs-up.
At first I thought Gene was trying to trademark the UT “Hook 'em Horns” gesture, also used by metalheads everywhere. But apparently he was trying for the ASL “I Love You” sign, which is far less metal.
Slight hijack to make the same point: they did a comic book where a crowd is being held at gunpoint and Peter Parker needs to finally communicate to Johnny Storm that, hey, so, yeah: I’m actually Spider-Man, okay? I’ve been keeping it a secret, but now you finally know, so: you get it, right? Make a diversion and I’ll go into action.
And so Peter covertly flashes him the “webshooter” gesture, which of course is also the “hook 'em horns” gesture, prompting Johnny to realize that – wait, is he telling me he’s a Chicago Bulls fan? A devil worshipper? I don’t get what’s going on, here.
Just to be clear, Simmons first filed and then withdrew an application to register a trademark. In theory, he can still try to use the gesture as a trademark and try to enforce trademark rights in it. It’s unlikely he would and even more unlikely he would be successful should he try.
But that’s the difference between a trademark and a trademark registration. People try to register controversial trademarks all the time. They don’t usually give up so quickly because they usually still have a good chance to prove their trademark rights and get a registration.
Simmons likely gave up so quickly not because of the controversy—shit, he loves controversy—but because his case that the gesture was a trademark at all that he could claim rights in was very weak.
A rock star who’s used to getting whatever he wants - like coke fountains and women by the busload - wants to see if he can buy a hand gesture and you’re surprised?
