Now here is a copyright battle that is downright bananas – a British photographer is squabbling with Wikimedia over who owns the rights to a photo a monkey took of herself. That’s right – a monkey selfie.
The British photog makes a compelling argument – he believes he retains ownership rights because the photo was originally snapped with his equipment. On the other side of the aisle, Wikimedia disputes the photo should be freely distributed as they believe any animal’s self-portrait is not subject to existing copyright law.
The monkey trouble all began with a 2011 wildlife photography field trip to Indonesia. A smiling crested black macaque would curiously nab some unmonitored camera equipment and snap a selfie. The macaque actually appears to be smiling in the photo, perhaps foreshadowing the looming legal battle her mischief would spawn.
Obviously, the situation raises plenty of questions – for instance, how exactly did the monkey grab a hold of the photography equipment? According to the photographer at center, “One of [the monkeys] must have accidentally knocked the camera and set it off because the sound caused a bit of a frenzy.” Accidents do happen – even in nature – but the bigger question remains – is it still grounds for property rights?
The curious apes reportedly took hundreds of photographs. Despite their innate technological abilities, their photography skills will need some work – the majority of the photos taken were out of focus. The monkey ‘selfie’ was far and away the most famous. The photo was immediately licensed for use throughout various media outlets.
Despite the amusing subject, the controversy remains. Wikimedia has since reaffirmed their stance on the issue – the media outlet has refused to reclassify the image as open-copyright. For now, the monkey selfie remains active in the media database of the Wikimedia Commons.
At press time, it remains unclear whether the macaque will represent itself in a subsequent court case.
Original story reported by NPR.