A judge has peeled back one of The Velvet Underground’s legal claims involving the use of the band’s famed banana logo.
Manhattan federal Judge Alison Nathan tossed the legendary band’s request for a court order declaring that the late artist Andy Warhol’s foundation doesn’t hold a copyright on the iconic image.
Nathan said a promise by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts not to sue the Velvets for using the design had “eliminated any live controversy” over the copyright.
Her ruling didn’t affect three other claims filed by the band, which is seeking unspecified damages for alleged trademark infringement and a court order barring the foundation from licensing the logo.
Band members Lou Reed and John Cale sued the Warhol foundation last year after learning that it licensed the banana image for use on iPad cases and other fashion accessories.
Their lawyer, Clifford James, said, “We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision.”
Warhol, who died in 1987, created the album cover using a banana image taken from “an advertisement in the public domain,” but never copyrighted it, according to the Velvets.
They accused the foundation of exploiting the “goodwill” generated by their influential combo, which featured the image on its groundbreaking debut album, “The Velvet Underground and Nico.”