Gene Simmons says he invented the 'rock horns' hand gesture and is seeking to trademark the sign.
Patently ridiculous? Perhaps. But the KISS bassist has filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and is currently awaiting a ruling, reports Loudwire.
Simmons says the gesture was first used in 1974 during KISS's Hotter Than Hell tour. The application even includes a diagram.
Yes, the same guy who tried selling official KISS "air guitar strings" has dreamed up another way to get your money.
But the patent may not come easily.
If you can believe it, Simmons is not actually the first person to ever hold his hand out with his middle and ring fingers down and his index, pinky and thumb extended. It was done before! Mind blown, right?
In the 5th Century B.C., Buddists used the gesture. There's even a photo of John Lennon doing what you Simmons might call a variation of it in 1968 on the cover of The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine / Eleanor Rigby" single.
Hollywood Reporter points out that various Mediterranean cultures used the gesture, which indicated that a man's wife was adulterous (that's awfully specific).
And then metal heads are apt to point out that his gesture is only slightly different from the "devil horns" sign that Ronnie James Dio popularized.
And all that to say nothing of the fact that this is how Spider-Man has shot webs out of his hands since 1962! So Spider-Man is gonna have to pay Gene freaking Simmons every times he goes out to fight crime?!
I don't think so. But hey, you miss all the shots you don't take.
Isn't that right, Spidey?
Photos: Getty Images