Velvet Underground sue Warhol Foundation

New York rock group, the Velvet Underground, took legal action on Wednesday to stop its famous Andy Warhol-designed banana being used on covers for Apple iPads and iPhones.

The 1960s band, formed by Lou Reed and John Cale, accused the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts of trademark infringement, claiming that the banana album design – with "Peel slowly and see" printed near the tip – was synonymous with their work.

The band members said they launched the lawsuit after reading newspaper reports last year that the foundation had agreed to license the banana for a series of cases, sleeves and bags planned for Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad.

The design, which was never officially copyrighted, "became a symbol, truly an icon, of the Velvet Underground" for some 25 years, the lawsuit said.

"The symbol has become so identified with the Velvet Underground … that members of the public, particularly those who listen to rock music, immediately recognise the banana design as the symbol of the Velvet Underground," the complaint added.

The legal papers also claimed the band had repeatedly asked the foundation to stop licensing the banana design to third parties "in a manner likely to cause confusion or mistake as to the association of Velvet Underground with the goods sold in commerce by such third parties".