Jeff Koons Cannot Copyright Balloon Animals

Jeff Koons does not have a copyright on balloon animals. The appropriation-loving artist was taken to task for issuing a cease and desist letter to a San Francisco store Park Life, which made balloon animal bookends that resembled his balloon animal sculptures, which resemble every balloon animal made at every child's birthday party in history. The Bay Citizen explains how Koons put the legal matters to rest:

"Jeff Koons and I signed the papers today, it's legally done," said Park Life co-owner Jamie Alexander. "We can sell the balloon dog bookends. The only thing that they wanted to concede is that we couldn't advertise them as being related to Jeff Koons, which we never did."

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Alexander noted that the store did not agree to a confidentiality agreement about their resolution, which was important to him, as he and lawyer Jed Wakefield saw this as a win for underdogs. "This is a victory for the little guy standing up to a bully. Also, it's about the absurdity of the art world," said Alexander.

Way to go, underdogs.