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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and wildlife photographer David Slater have reached a settlement over the ownership of a photograph taken by an Indonesian macaque monkey named Naruto:
PETA; photographer David Slater; his company, Wildlife Personalities, Ltd.; and self-publishing platform Blurb, Inc., have reached a settlement of the "monkey selfie" litigation. As a part of the arrangement, Slater has agreed to donate 25 percent of any future revenue derived from using or selling the monkey selfies to charities that protect the habitat of Naruto and other crested macaques in Indonesia.
According to a joint statement, "PETA and David Slater agree that this case raises important, cutting-edge issues about expanding legal rights for nonhuman animals, a goal that they both support, and they will continue their respective work to achieve this goal."
General Counsel for PETA Jeff Kerr told the New York Times that he did not know how much money Slater made on the photos in the past, but also that PETA is glad Naruto will benefit from the images in the future.
A federal judge previously dismissed the case, but PETA appealed. PETA has dropped its appeal so the question of nonhuman ownership of "intellectual property" will not be answered by a higher court.
Also at Ars Technica.
Previously: Monkey Selfie Case May Undo Evolution of the Web
(Score: 3, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:07AM (5 children)
Any judge that would hear this case should be thrown off the bench and into the jungle.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 4, Interesting) by edIII on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:59AM (1 child)
Not at all. I applaud this judge. Now monkeys have legal standing much like corporations are people, which means they can be sued and have the tables turned. The victims of unprovoked poo throwing now have legal precedence to get those poo throwing bastards back.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @07:33AM
Monkeys have had legal standing since 1865.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday September 13 2017, @02:18PM (1 child)
Actually, I disagree. I think all animals should have the same legal rights as humans. After all, it makes just as much sense as granting such rights to corporations.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:15PM
:-) But then why stop at animals? As long as the lawyers get paid, let's include everything in the entire universe that can afford or find representation, animate or inanimate. At least a corporation is a man made creation. Don't we have the right to bestow anything we wish upon that? Yes, both concepts are equally nonsensical, but we aren't really known for our consistency or logic, are we?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @08:18PM
I think it more likely that the judge might determine that the photo was created by "natural processes" and thus devoid of any IP.