US artist Joe Morford is suing Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, alleging that the latter stole his fruit-based artwork, The Guardian reports.

Mr Cattelan’s artwork, titled Comedian, consists of a banana attached to a wall with duct tape.

Mr Morford’s earlier artwork, titled Banana & Orange, consists of a banana and an orange attached to a wall with duct tape.

A district judge has ruled that the case can proceed as “the alleged infringement of Morford’s banana is sufficient, quantitatively and qualitatively, to state a claim”.