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13 July 2017Copyright

Monkey business in court over ‘selfie’ photograph dispute

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) appeal against a ruling that stated monkeys cannot hold copyright is currently being heard by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

This case stems from a ‘selfie’ taken by a Macaque monkey in Indonesia using the camera of British photographer David Slater.

The picture soon went viral, and PETA launched a lawsuit after Slater had asked Wikipedia to stop using the picture without his permission.

Wikipedia had stated that the photograph couldn’t be copyrighted because the monkey was the actual creator of the image.

In 2014 the US Copyright Office issued guidance stating that animals can’t own copyright but also that only humans can, so photographs taken by a monkey would not be copyrightable by humans, for example.

PETA said that the rights to the image should belong to Naruto and that all royalties generated from the distribution of the image should be used to benefit Naruto and other apes.

In response, Slater filed a motion to dismiss the case arguing that US law did not give animals the standing to assert copyright ownership.

Last year  WIPR reported that Judge William Orrick of the US District Court for the Northern District of California rejected PETA’s claim and stated that any copyright ownership by animals is a matter for Congress, not the courts.

The Ninth Circuit held a hearing yesterday, July 12, with Slater watching at his home in Wales, UK, via a live stream.

PETA’s attorneys argued that the copyright ownership should belong to the monkey, not Slater, while the photographer’s defence asked if PETA has a close enough relationship to Naruto to represent it in court.

“Looking at the judges’ faces, I think they were wondering what on earth was going on,” said David Slater, talking to WIPR.

“Even if the monkey could get copyright, it still doesn’t mean the monkey is a copyright holder; I set up the tripod and this is documented from the first days of the trial in 2011.

“If nothing else, that shows I set all the settings and the situation, and nobody has questioned this; all the monkey did was press a button.”

When approached by WIPR for comment general counsel at PETA, Jeff Kerr, explained why PETA took up the case.

"The macaque Naruto made the cause-and-effect connection between pressing the shutter button and the change to his reflection in the camera lens, resulting in his now-famous selfie photographs. Copyright law is clear that under these circumstances he should own the photos—and PETA is proud to be his voice in court.

"The proceeds from the use of these photos should go to protect Naruto and his family who are being wiped out for illegal bush meat and whose homelands are being destroyed by human encroachment."

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7 August 2017   The copyright infringement case brought by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on behalf of a monkey is nearing its conclusion after a joint motion to stay the appeal was filed.