Indonesian simian shot to fame previous year after a photographer published pictures taken by the monkey with his camera.
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Now an American Judge has decided that the monkey doesn’t own the photograph.
“The case was nearly dismissed outright, but Orrick, I believe, wanted more fun and for PETA to waste more of it’s donations on expensive attorneys”, he wrote Thursday on his Facebook page.
Slater contends that the copyright of the image belongs to him.
There’s only one problem though: The US Copyright Office says that Slater can’t own the rights to that photo, or any photo “produced by nature, animals, or plants”.
The animal, named in court as Naruto, a six-year-old macaque monkey from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, was represented by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick said in a tentative ruling in federal court in San Francisco that “while Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act”.
As it turns out, not only does Naruto love the camera but is quite the pro at operating it. But unfortunately, this talented macaque will not be allowed to own his masterpieces.
PETA said it planned to file an amended lawsuit.
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Upset with the decision Jeff Kerr, general counsel for PETA US, repotedly said that the move exposed the hypocrisy of those who exploit animals for their own gain.
