LOS ANGELES — The “Left Shark,” as seen dancing behind Katy Perry during Sunday night’s Super Bowl, became nothing short of an overnight phenomenon, spinning off memes for days afterward on social media.
Like any phenomenon, of course there are creative people who might be interested in turning it into a business idea.
Enter Fernando Sosa, who 3-D prints politically themed sculptures (a number of which are “not safe for work”) and sells them online. This time he went decidedly apolitical, creating and printing a Left Shark figure, which he put up for sale for $24.99, shortly after the Super Bowl.
On Wednesday, the Orlando resident heard from Perry’s lawyers.
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“Our client [Perry] recently has learned that you have been involved in the manufacture, sale, marketing and distribution of merchandise featuring a shark sculpture which embodies and uses the [Super Bowl halftime show], and that you have displayed this product on your website, in connection with such sale and distribution,” the letter read.
The letter from the law offices of Greenberg Traurig demanded that Shapeways.com, the website where Sosa sells his sculptures, cease and desist selling the product, and that he turn over any products he had in his possession.
A representative from Greenberg Traurig verified the letter is authentic.
“Well, it looks like dictators and world leaders like Putin and Kim Jong Un or Chris Christie are much easier to deal with,” said Sosa.
“So I probably will go back to doing pieces about them and other world leaders. All this lawyer crap is very stressful.”