GREENVILLE (Michigan) - A VERSION of Copenhagen's famed statue of The Little Mermaid that has stood in a riverside park in a Michigan city since 1994 may be removed following a claim it's an illegal replica.

The city of Greenville, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) northeast of Grand Rapids, was notified about the statue in a letter from the Artists Rights Society in New York representing the estate of Danish sculptor Edvard Eriksen, The Daily News reported.

Greenville officials said their 30-inch (75-centimetre) statue along the Flat River in Tower Riverside Park was intended to be an interpretation of the original. It was made by Lakeview artist Steve Willison.

Eriksen's 5-foot (1.5-meter) statue of The Little Mermaid, inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, was unveiled in 1913. The statue, which sits on a rock in Copenhagen harbour, is one of Denmark's biggest tourist attractions.

The Artists Rights Society says the Michigan statue may not be an exact replica, but the pose and name are the same. It says Eriksen's estate is seeking either the statue's removal or fees for its display.

'It's kind of a sad situation,' said Artists Rights Society administrator Chelsea Rhadigan. 'Sometimes the estate is willing to negotiate and sometimes they're not. It's very case by case specific.' City Manager George Bosanic said the Danish Festival Board in Greenville and the city will work to seek permission for the mermaid to stay.

The statue is part of a collection of Greenville statues portraying Andersen fairy tales. Greenville is home to an annual Danish Festival, and the statue was a gift of the festival's board. -- AP