SHARON OSBOURNE Defends OZZFEST's Lawsuit Against OZY FEST

Sharon Osbourne has defended Ozzfest‘s decision to file a lawsuit against the organizers of the interactive outdoor festival OZY Fest.

It was reported last month that Ozzy Osbourne‘s long-running festival had sued the people behind OZY Fest, claiming that the New York City event and its logo were confusing music fans.

During a recent edition of her show “The Talk”, Ozzy‘s wife and manager commented on the legal dispute, quipping: “Off with their heads, off to prison, that’s it.”

She added: “It’s ridiculous when somebody’s worked so long to make themselves accomplished, to work on their career, and then somebody comes in… And to use word ‘Fest’ as well as ‘OZY,’ it’s, like… You know, you could call it ‘festival’ or something.

Asked if she thought it was “kind of a compliment” that someone would use a name that was so similar to Ozzy‘s event, Sharon said: “No. I just think it’s, like, where do people come up with the nerve?”

OZY Fest, billed last year as OZY Fusion Fest, returned to Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield this past July, featuring performances by Jason Derulo, Samantha Bee, Issa Rae, RuPaul, Zara Larsson and Talib Kweli, as well as panels featuring Malcolm Gladwell, Katie Couric, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Adam Grant, Van Jones, Von Miller, Whitney Wolfe, Grover Norquist and Michael Moe.

After receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Ozzfest‘s attorneys, OZY Fest, described by The New York Times as “part music festival, part TED talk, part food fair,” claimed it wasn’t a concert and insisted it was more of a “media-focused event.”

Ozzfest sued to prevent an encore use of the name and for profits from this year’s OZY Fest.

Monowise Limited Corporation (MLC), the company behind Ozzfest, said in its cease-and-desist order, which was filed on October 18, that the OZY Fest marks “are nearly identical in sight, sound, connotation and commercial impression to MLC‘s well-known Ozzfest mark.”

“Defendants’ OZY Fest Logo consists of psychedelic imagery, which consumers associate with rock music,” the complaint states. “On information and belief, defendants intentionally use brightly colored-in blots and paint splatter in their OZY Fest Logo to create psychedelic imagery, and for the express purpose of impressing upon consumers that defendants’ festival includes rock music, just like MLC‘s Ozzfest event.”

The 2016 OZY Fusion Fest attracted nearly five thousand guests who interacted with art, engaged with speakers, tasted food and partied to live music, all in one place.