A San Francisco judge has indicated that the monkey who took a suite of selfies when a photographer’s camera was left unattended in the jungle is not entitled to ownership of the copyright in the images. The judge said that while the protection of the law can be extended to animals, there is nothing to suggest that this protection reached as far as giving animals rights under copyright legislation.
The case was taken last year by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who claimed copyright infringement on behalf of the monkey and sought an order allowing it to administer all proceeds from the photos, for the benefit of the monkey. On its website, PETA describes the judge’s opinion as a “disappointing move” but that they are “celebrating that legal history was made” in arguing that a monkey “should be the owner of property (specifically, the copyright to the famous ‘monkey selfie’ photos that he undeniably took), rather than a mere piece of property himself.” The monkey has not yet issued a statement, but is said to be ape-oplectic following the judge’s comments.