Left Shark Figurines Pulled After Cease-and-Desist Order by Katy Perry's Lawyer

Viral sensation "Left Shark" was the breakout star of Katy Perry's halftime performance at Super Bowl XLIX, but the hugely popular singer-songwriter has ensured that nobody will profit from her quirky backup dancer.

According to Eddie Krassenstein of 3DPrint.com, Perry's attorney sent a cease-and-desist notice to Fernando Sosa, who attempted to capitalize on Left Shark's massive following by producing 3D figurines on Shapeways.com.

The website obliged by pulling the figurines, but it expressed disappointment in a statement it released following the request from Perry's legal team, per Signe Brewster of Gigaom.com:

"

It's a shame because we love our community and always want to be able to support their designs. That's part of the reason why our work with Hasbro is so fun! It's allowing fans to create products truly inspired by the things they personally enjoy. We know these things can happen when you have a lot of user-generated content, but hopefully more brands (and celebrities!) will take note and want to work together with fans to create amazing products!

"

Sosa wasn't happy about the situation either, as evidenced by this tweet he sent out in the wake of the cease-and-desist order:

"

tell @katyperry to Free the #3dprinted #freeleftshark from the hands of her lawyers #katyperry pic.twitter.com/Di4mPdRGuu

— fernando sosa (@Amznfx) February 6, 2015"

While Perry put on a stirring and creative performance at the Super Bowl, Left Shark was the dark-horse standout after seemingly freelancing and going off the cuff, as seen in this Vine, courtesy of SportsViner:

Left Shark's willingness to deviate from the script certainly seemed to endear him to a large portion of the viewing audience, including CNN's Rachel Nichols:

With that said, not everyone fully understood the appeal of Left Shark, including NFL.com's Chris Wesseling:

Even so, Left Shark's fanbase was big enough to generate a ton of interest in Sosa's figurines. The fact that Perry's legal team took notice is certainly proof of that.

Although Left Shark's fans have been temporarily blocked from supporting their hero, one can only assume that the Katy Perry brand will take full advantage of his popularity.

Perry hasn't gotten to this point in her career without being an intelligent businesswoman, and she'll undoubtedly find a way to use Left Shark to her advantage.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.