The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction

Andrés Guadamuz

doi:10.14763/2016.1.398

Abstract

In 2011, a macaque monkey used a camera belonging to British photographer David Slater in Indonesia to take a self-portrait. The selfie picture became famous worldwide after it was published in the British media. In 2014 Slater sent a removal request to Wikimedia Commons, which indicated that the picture was in the public domain because it had been taken by the monkey and animals cannot own copyright works. While most of the legal analysis so far has been centred around US law, this article takes a completely different approach. Re-assessing jurisdictional issues, I examine the case from a UK and European perspective. The monkey selfie is of importance to internet policy: it has a lot to teach us about online jurisdiction. Under current originality rules, David Slater has a good copyright claim for ownership of the picture.

Highlights

On July 2011, news sources around the world were inundated with the image of a smiling monkey
It is hoped that the analysis provided will help to dismantle some of the inaccuracies regarding the monkey selfie case, and will prompt some discussion about the jurisdictional complexities and the debates around originality and non-human authorship in future cases
Based on the facts and the relevant rulings in the UK and Europe, there is a very strong argument to be made for the subsistence of copyright in the monkey selfie picture; David Slater can safely make the claim that he owns the copyright in the picture in the UK

Summary

INTRODUCTION

On July 2011, news sources around the world were inundated with the image of a smiling monkey. The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction a self-timer, but the monkeys took it away After rescuing it, he positioned it in a different way. Most of the above opinions seem to have missed an important element of the facts of the case, Slater is a British national and the picture was taken in Indonesia, so there is practically no reason why US copyright law should prevail. To redress this oversight, this article will examine the case from a UK and European perspective. We will conclude with the question of whether this case is of importance to internet policy, arguing that the monkey selfie has a lot to teach us about online jurisdiction

JURISDICTION ISSUES

DOES THE MONKEY SELFIE HAVE COPYRIGHT?

CONCLUSION

LIST OF CASES