David Slater

Famous selfies taken by a curious monkey, named Naruto, have brought great controversy and sparked a debate. David Slater, a nature photographer, was on an island in Indonesia taking photographs, when a curious monkey got his camera and snapped a couple selfies. When the photos became viral and Wikimedia started posting the photo on their website, Slater was furious. Because Slater was losing money from the trip, to all the equipment, he wanted the money that was being produced by the picture. David Slater decided that the copyright of the photo should be decided in court. But David Slater should not own the monkey selfie because, it was not Slater who took the photo, the monkey is not owned by the human, and because of the copyright laws. …show more content…
For something to qualify for copyright protection, in the US, it must be an object, original, and it must have an author. In the United States author means that the work has to be produced by a human being. When looking at the case in court, the main question was, do animals have the right to have ownership of their creativity or what they may have produced. PETA, (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) went to court on behalf of the monkey, Wikimedia was also present, and David Slater wanted copyright to the photos. Slaters testimony was that it was his camera, his equipment, and that he should have the copyright. PETAs argument was that the monkey should own his picture because frankly, Naruto pressed the shutter button and took his own picture. Wikimedia was fighting for the public to have the photo, so the public can use the photo for