One of the world's legendary rock bands and premier art foundations are about to do battle -- over a banana.

The Velvet Underground filed a trademark infringement lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan against The Andy Warhol Foundation, claiming it illegally licensed the famous banana image from the band's 1967 debut album for use on iPhone and iPad cases.

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

The lawsuit states that the band asked the foundation repeatedly to cease use of the image on iPad and iPhone accessories and that the foundation was trying to "deceive the public" into believing the band had given its "sponsorship or approval."

The Velvet Underground's early days are inextricably linked with Warhol and the scene at his famed New York studio, The Factory. Warhol, who grew up in Pittsburgh and moved to New York in 1949, began his association with the Velvets in 1965, when the band started performing at The Factory and contributing to his movie soundtracks.

In early 1966, he announced he was "sponsoring" the band, led by Lou Reed and John Cale. For its debut album, the suit states, Warhol used an element -- the banana -- from a public domain advertisement. According to the suit, in May 1966, the band received an advance of $3,000, which it "split with Andy Warhol in part in consideration for his furnishing the illustration for the record cover."

The banana was never officially copyrighted, and it appeared on the original album cover with just a Warhol signature and the words "Peel Slowly And See," revealing underneath an image of a banana's flesh-colored fruit. It wasn't until a later reissue that the band name was added to the cover. The band claims that while the image is in the popular domain, it is a symbol and trademark of the band, used not only on that first cover but on a future compilation and during the band's European tour in 1993.