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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.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 20 2017, @11:01AM
Actually, I disagree. Sure, it's not their fault, if the courts create or enforce bad law as a consequence. But they initiated the court case and various innocent parties are having to spend money to defend themselves as a result. At the least, PETA should be covering the cost of the cases and their appeals, possible with some modest punitive multiplier for wasting so many peoples' time and money with this case.
Nor do I agree that the current craziness of the PETA lawsuits has anything to do with the flaws of copyright. They're grandstanding for donations.