Here is a unique case regarding ownership of photos that creates bewilderment in the Copyright world.FACTS: Professional wildlife photographer David Slater set up camera in the wild somewhere in Indonesia. The monkey got curious and clicked on the button that resulted in a beautiful MONKEY SELFIE. Later on, the MONKEY SELFIE began circulating and reached WIKIPEDIA. The Photographer told WIKI hey, I own the copyright of that photo, please remove it as you are using it without permission. But the WIKI management said. No NO we are not removing it, it is the monkey who owns the photo since he’s the one who clicked the button of the camera. Hence, the lawsuit.

ISSUES: Whether or not the photographer holds the copyright of the photo or the monkey?

HELD:  The monkey owns the photo since he is the one who clicked the button of the camera.

Wikiemedia wins. The revised rules even go as far as citing “a photograph taken by a monkey” as one of the works not covered, along with a mural painted by an elephant and driftwood shaped and smoothed by the ocean.

The U.S. Copyright Office has settled the recent debate over the so-called monkey selfie, declaring in updated rules that a piece of content produced by an animal can’t be registered.
Neither can content created by ghosts and gods. Seriously.

This decision from the website.
Continue reading →