What could pop star “possibly stand to gain from declaring war on an Internet meme”?
The “Left Shark” replica designer hit by a cease & desist letter from Katy Perry has bitten back after getting a lawyer of his own.
As you will of course know, Perry’s recent Super Bowl gig this year included a couple of dancing sharks, one of which struggled to keep up with the choreography. A social media frenzy ensued, leading “Political Sculptor” Fernando Sosa to create a 3D printed knock-off that was immediately hit with a legal threat from the star’s lawyers, global law firm Greenberg Traurig.
Acting on behalf of Sosa, New York University legal academic Chris Sprigman has today penned a response to Greenberg Traurig, which surfaced in the blogosphere this afternoon.
In it, Professor Sprigman asks what Perry could “possibly stand to gain from declaring war on an Internet meme”, before delving into some technicalities of copyright law, and finally concluding:
“I’ll end my letter with a very simple request: Just drop this thing”.
Read the letter in full below.
LEFT SHARK REPLICA DESIGNER BITES BACK
THE ORIGINAL CEASE AND DESIST LETTER
