Monkey selfies cannot be copyrighted, the U.S. Copyright Office said in an update to its regulations. Apparently, they forgot to write out that works created by animals or nature can’t be copyrighted by a human.
The issue came up because British photographer David Slater sued Wikimedia Commons for using a 2011 photo a female crested black macaque took herself in Indonesia. He claimed ownership of the photo and sought to have it proven that the image wasn’t in the public domain.
However, as CBS News points out, newly proposed regulations from the Copyright Office spells out that works created by animals, nature or even plants cannot be protected. The office appears to specifically address Slater’s case, since it listed “a photograph taken by a monkey” as an example.
Other examples listed include paintings by elephants and “a song naming the Holy Spirit as the author of the work.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Slater requested that the image be pulled from Wikimedia Commons, but the nonprofit organization refused. Slater said he was robbed of millions and suggested in interviews that the endangered monkey could have been considered his assistant.
If the regulations are approved after review, they go into effect in December.
Can a monkey hold a copyright? This macaque’s selfie belongs to us all, this CNN analyst says: http://t.co/excIKcCoUn pic.twitter.com/xvbl9h0h9X
— CNN International (@cnni) August 9, 2014
image via Twitter from CNN