Most of us have done it before — thrown up the “sign of the horns” while jamming to some killer rock music.
Well, according to Gene Simmons, we have KISS to thank for that.
The long-tongued frontman has filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office, seeking trademark ownership of the iconic hand gesture.
He claims the “devil horns” became a part of the band’s act during its Hotter Than Hell tour — on Nov. 14, 1974 to be exact.
While it is used in American Sign Language to represent “I love you,” most know it as the international symbol of rock.
Some people tend to place their thumb over their two middle fingers when making the salute, but Simmons claims that this is not the correct way to do it.
“The mark consists of a hand gesture with the index and small fingers extended upward and the thumb extended perpendicular,” he states in his application, which also features a drawing of his version for good measure.
Many music fans have been blasting Simmons for the trademark request, citing all the different places they’ve seen the symbol being used.
Some have even noted how it’s very similar to the motion Spider-man is known to make in movies and his comics, while others have pointed to an album cover for the Beatles’ 1966 single, Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby — which shows John Lennon throwing up the gesture long before KISS was formed.
Rock legend Ronnie James Dio has been considered one of the originators of the devil horns, but he didn’t start using it on stage until after joining Black Sabbath in 1979.
He later claimed that his Italian grandmother used to throw up the symbol to ward off the “Evil Eye.”
The psychedelic rock band Coven has also been credited with being one of the first groups to use the sign. The photo on the back cover of their 1969 debut LP, “Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls,” features several members forming the symbol with their hands.