MEATLOAF - MEATLOAF PLAYS DOWN STEINMAN ROW

MEATLOAF PLAYS DOWN STEINMAN ROW

LATEST: MEATLOAF has played down his legal battle with songwriter JIM STEINMAN over trademark rights - insisting was caused a clerical error. The singer, real name real name MICHAEL LEE ADAY, filed a suit against Steinman earlier this year (JUN06), claiming he had wrongfully registered the phrase 'Bat Out Of Hell' as his US trademark over a decade ago. But the dispute is over, with Meatloaf claiming there was never any fall out between the pair and that they are still best of friends, even though Steinman is not working on the forthcoming BAT OUT OF HELL III: THE MONSTER IS LOOSE album. He says, "It took just three weeks to sort out. It was only a problem in the United States because I own the trademark around the world except for the US and the only reason I didn't own it in the States was a clerical error by some attorney. "The bottom line is that it's a living trademark and it has been established. We needed to speed up the process and that was what was going on."