Warhol Foundation In Banana Battle With Velvet Underground

Andy Warhol's career was based on repurposing well-known celebrity images and brands, but now the Warhol Foundation has found itself in a heated battle over one of Warhol's most beloved images. The opponents? The Velvet Underground.

Warhol's iconic cover art for 1967's "The Velvet Underground & Nico" is at the center of a hot legal debate over who owns the rights to the banana. Yes, we're serious. Lou Reed and John Cale are suing the Warhol Foundation on the grounds that it is illegally licensing the image for iPhone and iPad covers, among other items.

The lawsuit is intended to prevent further sales of the image and force the Warhol Foundation to declare that it has no copyrights on our favorite yellow fruit. (Warhol originally split a whopping $3,000 advance with the band as payment for creating the cover, so we understand why the founding VU members are peeved.)

"Velvet Underground'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 lawsuit stated.

As many of you know, Warhol was instrumental in promoting the band, becoming their manager in 1965 and featuring them prominently in his wandering multimedia experience, "Exploding Plastic Inevitable." Now it's the Exploding Inevitable Money Rush.

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Comments

[triplettam]

05:48 AM on 01/16/2012

If it wasn't for Andy, there would be no Velvet Underground.

[Kathleen Massara]

08:53 AM on 01/13/2012

This is to everyone: what's the last album you purchased?

[milkmanjk]

06:57 PM on 01/15/2012

Fleetwood Mac...live in boston...circa 1970..

[triplettam]

05:47 AM on 01/16/2012

Vinyl?

[Kathleen Massara]

08:51 AM on 01/13/2012

Mat Gleason: your query to Lou Reed cracked us up this morning. Thank you for that!

[surfandshop]

07:39 PM on 01/12/2012

this famous picture makes me smile...

[jokamachi]

02:49 PM on 01/12/2012

Warhol was "producer" of the Velvet's first album and as an homage they commissioned one of his images to be used on their album cover... with his blessing. They split the advance as a result. End of story. Sounds like the Warhol people want to renegotiate what was already agreed upon long ago.

[caland]

10:25 AM on 01/12/2012

NO ONE should OWN an image. That's ridiculous. Copyright needs to DISAPPEAR.

[dropthedh]

04:34 PM on 01/12/2012

and so shall creativity.

[UnicornsOccur]

09:54 AM on 01/12/2012

As an atheist, I find the whole situation to be quite nightmarish.

[caland]

10:24 AM on 01/12/2012

what does that have to do with anything? I'm an atheist too but i don't get it. whatever.

[UnicornsOccur]

02:59 PM on 01/12/2012

youtube atheist's nightmare - its a joke.

[Mat Gleason]

11:12 PM on 01/11/2012

I have a tattoo of that banana and I am not paying either of them a dime in royalties. Whattaya gonna do, Lou, peel me? Wait don't answer that.

[surfandshop]

07:41 PM on 01/12/2012

seriously? post it

[discouragerofhesitancy]

09:33 PM on 01/11/2012

An incredible album with an iconic cover. The original album has a real peel off banana peel, not just copy that says "peel here."

[surfandshop]

08:13 PM on 01/12/2012

that was a wonderful album cover.. the sticker had to be peeled, but you wished it could stay pristine forever..Album covers are fun hold and read..........

[discouragerofhesitancy]

03:13 PM on 01/13/2012

Agreed, do you remember the Stone's "Sticky Fingers" LP with the actual zipper or the 3D cover of "Satanic Majesties..."?
How about those Jethro Tull albums wih the pop-up band (Stand Up) and newspaper (Thick as a Brick)?
I could go on for hours.
The 12" size of LP discs made an excellent tableau for album art, graphics and song lyrics that the CD format cannot size up to.

[wandering girl]

01:54 AM on 01/13/2012

I still have mine. the banana is a little worse for wear, but still on the cover. I bought it in 1967 in a music store in Chicago just before I joined the Navy. still my favorite VU album.