Someone else might have written the Bat Out of Hell song, but Meat Loaf claims he should be the only one to use the phrase in connection with music.
In a federal lawsuit dated May 26, the rocker, whose real name is Michael Aday, said the expression had been publicly associated with him since the 1977 release of his Bat Out of Hell album.
The suit claims defendant Jim Steinman, who wrote the original song of the same name, wrongly claims ownership of the phrase.
The album and its 1993 follow-up, Bat Out of Hell II, sold 48 million copies worldwide, according to the suit.
Steinman and Meat Loaf's manager, defendant David Sonenberg, have been trying to disrupt the October release of the third Bat Out of Hell album.
