New York : The US Copyright Office has confirmed that a monkey – or any other animal – that takes a selfie does not own the copyright of the photo.
A selfie taken by a black macaque on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi three years back has become a tug of war between Wikipedia and the photographer who claims he is the owner of the selfie.
Wikipedia has refused to remove the famous selfie, saying the monkey – and not the photographer – owns the copyright because the animal took it.
In an update to copyright regulations and practices published this week, the US regulator spelled out examples of works that are not eligible for protection.
These include “a photograph taken by a monkey” and “a mural painted by an elephant”, says a report in National Journal, according to IANS.
The US copyright association has negated the photographers claims and said in its draft report,
“The Office will not register works produced by nature, animals, or plants. Likewise, the
Office cannot register a work purportedly created by divine or supernatural beings, although the Office may register a work where the application or the deposit copy state that the work was inspired by a divine spirit.”
Photographer David Slater was clicking photos of crested black macaques in 2011 when one of the endangered monkeys hijacked his camera and snapped hundreds of pictures.
Among those, there were some stunning images, including a selfie of the macaque that made headlines.
