Last year, the Velvet Underground became embroiled in a lawsuit with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts over the use of the iconic banana logo that served as the cover artwork of their 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico. Now, the two parties have finally reached an agreement.
The details of the deal are being kept under wraps, but the two sides settled out of court, according to Billboard. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts wrote a letter to a New York federal judge explaining that an agreement had been struck, and the case was dismissed on Tuesday (May 28).
The disagreement stemmed for the fact that the Andy Warhol Foundation was using the banana image without the band's consent. Although the logo was never copyrighted and reportedly was based on an image from the public domain, the Velvet Underground argued that it had become synonymous with their band.
The foundation used it on a bag and iPad sleeve, and the Velvets argued that consumers might believe these products were associated with the band. The foundation countered that the group broke up decades before and haven't done their own licensing in recent years.
Now that the lawsuit is over, Velvet Underground fans can get back to focusing on the things that really matter, like Moe Tucker's politics and Lou Reed's spider.
The details of the deal are being kept under wraps, but the two sides settled out of court, according to Billboard. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts wrote a letter to a New York federal judge explaining that an agreement had been struck, and the case was dismissed on Tuesday (May 28).
The disagreement stemmed for the fact that the Andy Warhol Foundation was using the banana image without the band's consent. Although the logo was never copyrighted and reportedly was based on an image from the public domain, the Velvet Underground argued that it had become synonymous with their band.
The foundation used it on a bag and iPad sleeve, and the Velvets argued that consumers might believe these products were associated with the band. The foundation countered that the group broke up decades before and haven't done their own licensing in recent years.
Now that the lawsuit is over, Velvet Underground fans can get back to focusing on the things that really matter, like Moe Tucker's politics and Lou Reed's spider.
