It appears that the much-maligned “monkey selfie” case is destined for a quick exit. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California posted a brief order expressing the sentiment of the presiding judge as expressed at a hearing on a defendant’s motion to dismiss. Specifically, the Hon. William H. Orrick made a tentative ruling that the photograph of a crested black macaque cannot be copyrighted on behalf of the animal itself.
Topics: Copyright Act, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, monkey selfie, Congress, PETA, David Slater, Copyright, Blurb Inc., Naruto, Hon. William H. Orrick, authorship, Cetacean Community v Bush, Ars Technica
We reported in September on the lawsuit filed in California over the so-called “Monkey selfie” that underscored some of the limits of copyright protection. One of the defendants, Blurb, Inc., the publisher of photographer David Slater’s picture, has moved to dismiss, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has responded. The back and forth is, well, something akin to the infamous barrel full of monkeys.
Topics: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Blurb, monkey selfie, Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Wildlife Personalities., PETA, David Slater, Copyright, United States Copyright Office
There has much much Internet mirth about the recent publication of the Third Edition of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, more specifically, the Compendium’s statement that “the Office will refuse to register a claim if it determines that a human being did not create the work.”
Topics: Donn Zaretsky, Third Edition of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright, monkey selfie, Internet, crested black macaque, Lawrence Robbins, David Slater, Copyright, Trending Trademarks, Art Law Report
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