At least one person capitalizing on the meteoric rise of the Left Shark meme has been served a cease and desist letter from Katy Perry's lawyers.
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Fernando Sosa, a resident of Orlando, Florida, was one of many people to use Left Shark's overnight popularity to make a buck… but he won't be able to anymore if Katy Perry's lawyers have anything to say about it.
Sosa has an online store on the website, Shapeways, where he sells figurines of politicians and other famous people made with a 3-D printer. According to Time, Sosa started making and selling Left Shark figurines soon after the Super Bowl, but on Wednesday, the website received a cease and desist letter from Perry's legal team, demanding that the Left Shark figurines be removed because they are Perry's "intellectual property."
Here is an excerpt from the lawsuit:
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"As you are undoubtedly aware, our client never consented to your use of its copyrighted work and [intellectual property], nor did our client consent to the sale of the infringed product," the letter, posted by Sosa to Instagram, reads. "Your infringing conduct entitles our client to significant legal relief against you, which may include actual damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages, as well as immediate and permanent injunctive relief."
Here is the opinion of the journalist Christina Marfice:
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So, basically, what Perry is saying is she's the only person who can have any rights whatsoever to anything featuring Left Shark. It's a pretty petty move, especially considering the shark is only so famous because it screwed up the choreography during the performance — it's not like Perry planned that.
Is Katy being petty here (as this journalist believes), or is Katy in the right over this?
It's not petty and the lawyers didn't lie...it Is someone intellectual property. Who knows if it's Katy's. Still, they don't have the right to make a quick buck. Its a basic legal right.
It's not petty and the lawyers didn't lie...it Is someone intellectual property. Who knows if it's Katy's. Still, they don't have the right to make a quick buck. Its a basic legal right.
Just leave people be, it's a ******* costume. Not convinced Katy is behind this though.