January 21, 2009 8:00

U2 album artwork branded 'rip off'

US artist claims the band copied him on their new album

Photo Gallery: U2

American musician and label owner Taylor Deupree has accused U2 of copying one of his album covers for their new record.

The Irish band's sleeve for 'No Line On The Horizon' features the same image as Deupree's 2006 album 'Specification. Fifteen'.

Both covers are based on a photograph by Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Deupree posted a "rant" on 12kblog entitled 'U2 Album Cover…Have I Seen This Before?', attacking U2 for not researching their cover properly.

"U2's forthcoming album 'No Line On The Horizon' is nearly an exact rip-off of mine and Richard Chartier's 'Specification. Fifteen', which came out a couple of years ago," Deupree wrote.

However, a further post by Deupree said that he doesn't think the argument should become a legal matter.

"This minor ordeal has become more a question of a project that was small, intimate and experimental (and the chance of a lifetime for a small artist) versus the massive pop culture machine," he wrote. "In the end, we all know who wins."