Truce Called in Banana Fight Between Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol’s Estate

A federal judge has dismissed the recent legal tug of war between the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol’s estate.


The court battle started when the Warhol Foundation announced plans to license the artist’s well-known banana print — memorably featured on the cover of the 1967 album ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ — to the Incase Designs company for use in a line of iPhone and iPad cases. Arguing that the band’s inextricable link with the image would cause confusion and lead people to believe they’d licensed it themselves, the members of the Velvet Underground’s business partnership (including former band members Lou Reed and John Cale) sued to put a stop to the deal.

The case posed some thorny legal questions, particularly because — as Vintage Vinyl News points out — neither Warhol nor the band claimed a copyright on the image. The VU partnership, however, argued that this strengthened its case; as VVN puts it, “There was no existing copyright on the image nor was a copyright claimed by the Velvet Underground on the album cover. This left a work that Reed, Cale, et. al. claimed was in the public domain and could not be licensed by the Foundation.”

According to case notes compiled by Wikipedia, the court had a jurisdiction problem with the suit because “the Constitution allows federal courts to decide only ‘Cases’ or ‘Controversies,’ which means ongoing or imminent disputes over legal rights, involving concrete facts and specific acts, that require court intervention in order to shield the plaintiff from harm or interference with its rights.” And because a judge determined that the band’s interests wouldn’t be harmed if the image were licensed, the court wasn’t able to intervene.

Ultimately, according to VVN’s report, the two sides ended up reaching an undisclosed agreement out of court, and the case was dismissed after the Foundation informed the judge they’d settled their differences. So if you see a familiar-looking banana on someone’s portable computing device a few months from now, just remember: Lou Reed wanted nothing to do with it.

source: ultimateclassicrock.com

Velvet Underground Lose Andy Warhol Copyright Claim

The Velvet Underground do not have a valid copyright claim on the Andy Warhol artwork on the cover of the band's 1967 debut, a federal judge ruled in dismissing part of the band's trademark infringement lawsuit against the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The dispute began in 2009 when the Warhol Foundation claimed the band's use of the image infringed on the foundation's copyright. The group rejected the copyright claim, countering that the banana print on the cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico was, in fact, a band trademark. The Velvet Underground filed suit in January after learning that the Warhol Foundation had licensed the image for a line of iPhone cases. The band demanded the Warhol Foundation stop licensing the banana image, and pay the band for past licensing.

The Warhol Foundation responded with a promise never to sue the Velvet Underground for copyright infringement for use of the banana design, which meant there was no longer a copyright dispute, U.S. District Court Judge Alison Nathan ruled last week.

Nathan didn't rule on who owns the rights to the image. The band says the banana print is so closely identified with them that any use of it by the Warhol Foundation would confuse the public, while the foundation notes that the Velvet Underground broke up in 1972. The band has licensed the image over the years for uses including pillow cases and, in 2001, an Absolut Vodka advertising campaign.

Among various other stipulations in the judge's decision comes this one, which is sure to disappoint fans hoping for one more reunion: "The Velvet Underground broke up as a band in 1972; it last performed live in 1993 and will never perform live again."

source: rollingstone.com

Warhol’s Marlon Brando silkscreen could fetch $20M at auction

NEW YORK – An Andy Warhol silkscreen of actor Marlon Brando, clad in leather astride a motorcycle from the movie “The Wild One,” is expected to sell for $20 million when it hits the auction block in November, Christie’s said on Wednesday.

“Marlon,” a 1966 silkscreen that is one of the late pop artist’s most famous Hollywood portraits, will be part of the auction house’s sale of post-war and contemporary art. It is being sold from the collection of businessman and Museum of Modern Art trustee Donald L. Bryant Jr.

“Alongside his portraits of Elvis Presley, Warhol’s image of Marlon Brando exudes a raw sexuality and intense power rarely found in his work,” said Brett Gorvy, Christie’s chairman for post-war and contemporary art.

The image of Brando was taken from a publicity photo for the 1953 movie about motorcycle gangs.

“Marlon” will be sold at Christie’s New York headquarters on Nov. 14. The sale coincides with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibit of works by Warhol.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, established in 1987 at the late artist’s direction, said on Wednesday that over a period of years it would sell through Christie’s paintings, photos and other works by Warhol.

“The Foundation also plans to mark its 25th anniversary by making additional gifts of significant works to museums, continuing its long history of donating Warhol’s art,” it said in a joint statement with Christie’s.

Warhol’s “Green car crash – Green burning car I” sold in 2007 for $71.7 million. A four-panel self-portrait, Warhol’s first, commanded $38.4 million in May 2011, and his “Double Marlon,” another Brando-inspired work from 1966, sold for $32.5 million in 2008. Four months ago, a Warhol work featuring Elvis sold for $37 million at Sotheby’s.

source: interaksyon.com