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posted by CoolHand on Tuesday July 18 2017, @10:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the monkey'ing-around dept.

About six years ago photographrapher David Slater was taking pictures of monkeys and got a monkey to take a selfie with his equipment. The case has been in and out of court over copyright issues because while it was Slater's equipment and he set up the situation some claim that it is the monkey who holds copyright over the image while others claim that no one at all has copyright over the image. A serious attempt is being made to use the case to push for copyright and other ownership rights for non-humans. The image is now being use to try to force the issue of non-human rights, using methods that might do a lot of damage along the way.

Ars Technica is about the only site to notice so far. They write that the case is no laughing matter. PETA's quest for animals to own property could end the web as we know it. Specifically this image has become relevant to the future of the WWW and the Internet because the strategy chosen involves first asserting that companies that supply tools for people to self-publish their own works can be held liable for the content posted or uploaded by third parties.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 18 2017, @11:51PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 18 2017, @11:51PM (#541234)

    Not so fast. Corporations have standing to be sued, and to pursue legal action on their own behalf. They are created by deliberate action, and can enter into contracts.

    None of the above applies to chimps.

    Moreover, there's no indication that the chimp in question had any idea that it was creating a photograph, and consequently the idea of artistic creation is a fraught one at best.

  • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2017, @12:06AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2017, @12:06AM (#541240)

    there's no indication that the chimp in question had any idea that it was creating...

    I've seen movies and magazine articles made by humans where I would have sworn that was the case.

    ...and that goes for some S/N comments and submissions as well.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2017, @12:17AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2017, @12:17AM (#541249)

    Macaque [wikipedia.org]
    Although several species lack tails, and their common names refer to them as apes, these are true monkeys, with no greater relationship to the true apes than any other Old World monkeys

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by maxwell demon on Wednesday July 19 2017, @05:35AM (2 children)

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Wednesday July 19 2017, @05:35AM (#541340) Journal

    Moreover, there's no indication that the chimp in question had any idea that it was creating a photograph, and consequently the idea of artistic creation is a fraught one at best.

    Very good point. If you run into a red-light camera, you are arguably are making a selfie, as it is you who triggered the camera. Are you therefore the copyright owner of the photo? I strongly doubt so.

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Wednesday July 19 2017, @08:13AM (1 child)

      by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 19 2017, @08:13AM (#541373)

      There's some mileage in that idea (pun not intended), but a monkey holding a camera has more control over image composition, as well as timing. Your red-light camera is attached to a pole, with a fixed view.

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by deimtee on Wednesday July 19 2017, @03:49PM

        by deimtee (3272) on Wednesday July 19 2017, @03:49PM (#541474) Journal

        It may be a fixed view, but they explicitly argue that you are responsible for the composition of your car and a red light in the same photo.

        --
        If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.