Katy Perry 'left shark' sculptor refusing to bow to legal threat

A Florida sculptor is refusing to back down after he was threatened with legal action for selling models of Katy Perry's 'left shark' from her Super Bowl set earlier this month (Feb15).

Orlando-based artist Fernando Sosa saw a money-making opportunity after Perry wowed audiences at the big football game's half-time show with her bubblegum pop set, which included two dancers dressed as blue cartoon sharks.

The 'left shark', which danced awkwardly with the Teenage Dream hitmaker, became a viral sensation and Sosa decided to create 3D models in its likeness and sell them online.

He was slapped with a cease-and-desist notice three days after Perry's 1 February (15) gig, prompting bosses at a shopping website to withdraw the models from sale, but Sosa has vowed to fight the copyright claim, insisting he will not fall victim to "bullying corporate lawyers".

Explaining his move in a blog post on Monday (09Feb15), Sosa insisted he is "just a small shark trying to make a decent living", while his lawyer has responded to the legal threat by questioning the copyright claim as U.S. law states that "costumes are generally not copyrightable".

Sosa is now shifting the products himself on crafts site Etsy.com and has also set up a crowdfunding page at GoFundMe.com to collect donations for his legal fund.

Perry's lawyers demanded that Sosa stop selling the sharks and turn over any products he had made from the venture.