AceShowbiz - Ozzy Osbourne has officially called a truce with his former Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi - they have settled a long-running legal dispute over the use of the group's name.

The British singer filed suit against the guitarist in May last year, accusing Iommi of falsely proclaiming to be the sole owner of the Black Sabbath name by lodging an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Osbourne demanded a 50 per cent stake in the Black Sabbath trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name, claiming his "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's success.

The singer recently admitted he was keen to put the legal battle behind him following the death of their mutual friend Ronnie James Dio in May, and now the pair has released a joint statement confirming they have settled the dispute "amicably".

The statement, released to Blabbermouth.net, reads, "Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi of the legendary heavy metal band Black Sabbath have amicably resolved their problems over the ownership of the Black Sabbath name and court proceedings in New York have been discontinued. Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to co-operate together for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business."

No further details about the settlement were available as WENN went to press.