In the story that first appeared in the New York Post, among other places, the Velvet Underground have filed suit in Federal Court claiming that the Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts illegally licensed its iconic banana cover from the VU’s debut album. Even though the artwork was conceived by Andy Warhol, the Velvet’s claim that the foundation’s licensing the logo for use in some iPad products implies their endorsement of the product.
While Warhol never trademarked the banana, the band used it in its 1995 box set, and did license it to Absolut Vodka for a promotional campaign in 2001, and thus representing that it was synonymous with the Velvet Underground.
Read more in the New York Post
