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New York rock band the Velvet Underground are taking the Andy Warhol Foundation to civil court over an image designed by the artist for use on the rockers' debut album cover.

The iconic 1967 banana logo, the band says, has been illegally licensed by the Warhol Foundation for use on its own merchandise. The band claims trademark infringement as they see the image as being a major part of their own brand.

Warhol served as manager for the band at the time he designed the image – early editions of which featured a removable peel that revealed the fruit’s flesh beneath it. The banana appeared on the band’s album The Velvet Underground and Nico, which would come to be considered one of rock’s greatest records.

The band insists in its suit that although never officially copyrighted, the image “became a symbol, truly an icon, of the Velvet Underground”.

 The court documents state: “The symbol has become so identified with the Velvet Underground that members of the public, particularly those who listen to rock music, immediately recognize the banana design as the symbol of the Velvet Underground.”

According to the suit, members of the band continuously requested that the Warhol Foundation not license the image to third parties “in a manner likely to cause confusion or mistakes as to the association of Velvet Underground with the goods sold in commerce by such third parties.”

Velvet Underground members are seeking an injunction to disallow use of the image by third parties, unspecified damages, a portion of the profits the Warhol Foundation has seen from its licensing deals and affirmation that the foundation has no copyright interest in the banana image.

The band resorted to legal action after reports indicating that the Warhol Foundation had licensed the image for a line of bags, cases and sleeves meant to sheath Apple iPhones and iPads. Apple is not named in the band’s civil suit.