Technology raises as many questions as it answers

While technology provides a lot of answers to questions, ironically, it seems to create just as many if not more — and animals are by no means exempt.

Ownership and rights issues are matters of interest these days — especially with the viral manner in which information, images, videos and music are shared — and debate about the legalities of ownership is to be expected.

Apparently, even for monkeys.

Little did he know he would set off a legal battle when, in 2011, he stared into the lens of a camera and pushed the button. But that is exactly what one Indonesian macaque did.

In the years since, Naruto the curious monkey’s grinning image has become famous and not just because it’s a great picture.

First of all, it’s a selfie (internet speak for self-portrait) taken by a monkey, which in and of itself is pretty amazing.

But the real kicker is that for a couple of years, Naruto has been at the center of a legal battle aimed at protecting his ownership of the photo.

It’s long established that the one who takes the picture owns the picture, therefor “selfies” – and any copyrights that go with them – belong to the people that press the button.

In the case of an animal that snaps a selfie, however, things aren’t as clear.

The legal issues began when photographer David Slater came across the selfie Naruto shot with his camera on a Wikipedia page. He asked that it be removed, only to be met with the argument that he was not the owner of the photo because it had been taken by an animal. The case gained notoriety and eventually PETA joined in, filing a lawsuit that argued as the photo-taker, Naruto owns the rights to his own picture, not the photographer whose camera he commandeered.

As a result of the case, the US Copyright Office clarified copyrights will only be issued to humans, and in 2016 a federal judge issued a provisional ruling in the PETA-Slater case that animals, including Naruto, cannot claim copyrights.

PETA appealed the 2016 ruling, however on Sept. 11, they announced they had reached a settlement with Slater and ended the case.

Per their agreement, Slater will donate 25 percent of any profit he makes from Naruto’s photo to charities that support and protect the Indonesian macaque and their habitat, according to a joint statement released by PETA.

“Naruto and the famous 'monkey selfie' photographs that he undeniably took clearly demonstrate that he and his fellow macaques — like so many other animals — are highly intelligent, thinking, sophisticated beings worthy of having legal ownership of their own intellectual property and holding other rights as members of the legal community,” PETA stated in the release.

While the settlement reached has the potential to benefit Naruto and his species, the legal case didn’t change anything for animals. Short of another round of litigation that may or may not bring different results, as it stands now, animals definitively cannot own intellectual property rights.

As technological advancements continue to make photo-snapping easier, surely there will be more animal self-portraits, and no doubt the legal questions will arise again. But for now, selfies, and for that matter intellectual products — music, artwork and other creations — belong to humans.

But in the case of Naruto, the outcome probably was best for macaques since they will get something out of it — after all, who knows what he might have spent the money on.

Sharna Johnson is always searching for ponies. You can reach her at: [email protected]