Members of The Velvet Underground are taking legal action against the Andy Warhol Foundation.
It’s the most famous banana in rock history. Designed by Andy Warhol, the fruity cover of The Velvet Underground’s seminal debut album has adorned posters, tote bags and t-shirts across the globe.
Now the question of who actually owns the design sits at the centre of a new court battle. The New York Post reports that the remaining members of The Velvet Underground are due to take legal action against the Andy Warhol Foundation, who they accuse of illegally licensing the logo.
The Manhattan federal court filing was issued after the Andy Warhol Foundation launched a commercial range using the logo. In the suit, The Velvet Underground accuse the charity of trying to “deceive the public” into thinking the seminal art-rock outfit gave their “sponsorship or approval” to the range.
Created by Andy Warhol, the actual banana in the logo was borrowed from a then-current press advert. Never copyrighted by the artist, the design has been intimately associated with The Velvet Underground for more than thirty years.
“VU’s use and application of the design to symbolize the group and its whole body of work has been exclusive, continuous and uninterrupted for more than 25 years,” the suit says.
“As a result, the symbol has become so identified with The Velvet Underground… that members of the public, and particularly those who listen to rock music, immediately recognize the banana design as the symbol of The Velvet Underground.”
The suit also states: “It is not merely the graphic reproduction by Andy Warhol of a piece of fruit: it is the ‘iconic’ VU banana”.
The Andy Warhol Foundation have yet to comment.
