A lawsuit has been settled in San Francisco over copyright ownership of a “monkey selfie” taken on a photographer’s camera back in 2011 in Sulawesi, Indonesia. PETA,
also known as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, filed a lawsuit against the photographer in 2015 for the financial gains of the photo from the monkey, named Naruto, that took the selfie. The “monkey selfie” photo was taken unattended by David Slater, the photographer who owned the camera. Slater’s defense argues that his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd. has profitable rights to all photos along with the monkey selfie. This lawsuit involved the U.S Copyright Act arguing that there is no suggestion that copyright laws are given as protection to animals as well as humans. The settlement for this lawsuit involved Slater to donate twenty-five percent of any future profits from the monkey selfie to charities that commit their organizations to protect crested macaque monkeys in Indonesia.
also known as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, filed a lawsuit against the photographer in 2015 for the financial gains of the photo from the monkey, named Naruto, that took the selfie. The “monkey selfie” photo was taken unattended by David Slater, the photographer who owned the camera. Slater’s defense argues that his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd. has profitable rights to all photos along with the monkey selfie. This lawsuit involved the U.S Copyright Act arguing that there is no suggestion that copyright laws are given as protection to animals as well as humans. The settlement for this lawsuit involved Slater to donate twenty-five percent of any future profits from the monkey selfie to charities that commit their organizations to protect crested macaque monkeys in Indonesia.