PETA's 'Monkey Selfies' Legal Battle Ends Charitably

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Some six years after a troop of monkeys took “selfies” in an Indonesian rainforest — their self-portraits eventually sparking the so-called "Monkey See, Monkey Sue" international controversy over copyright law — a settlement has been reached that will benefit Naruto and his fellow crested black macaques. He's the posing primate who snapped a now-famous selfie in 2011 with a camera left unattended in a reserve on the island of Sulawesi by British nature photographer David Slater.

When the monkey selfie and others by the macaques were published in a book by Slater, it sparked outrage from animal rights’ group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals and led to a San Francisco lawsuit over who should own the rights to the photos: the monkeys or Slater.

Now, following the suit filed in 2015 by PETA, the group has agreed to dismiss its appeal of the latest decision in the case and Slater has agreed to donate 25 percent of any future earnings from the selfies to charity. Slater will provide those donations to registered charities dedicated to protecting the welfare or habitat of Naruto and other crested black macaques in Indonesia, the two parties announced Monday.

“PETA and David Slater agree that this case raises important, cutting-edge issues about expanding legal rights for non-human animals, a goal that they both support, and they will continue their respective work to achieve this goal,” PETA and Slater said in a joint statement. “As we learn more about Naruto, his community of macaques, and all other animals, we must recognize appropriate fundamental legal rights for them as our fellow global occupants and members of their own nations who want only to live their lives and be with their families.”

Funds donated by Slater will further those goals, they said.

“Wildlife Personalities,” the book on which the photo of Naruto appears on the cover — part of the alleged copyright infringing conduct — was published in and sold from San Francisco, hence the location of the lawsuit, PETA spokesman David Perle told Patch.

In its lawsuit, PETA contended that Naruto, who had seen tourists taking photos, showed creative authorship by taking the selfies with "purposeful and voluntary" actions — and therefore, all proceeds from the book and the photographs should go toward Naruto and his community.

Slater argued that he owned the copyright because he made "critical artistic decisions" in choosing the camera settings. Slater said he'd spent several days following the troop of macaques and became a trusted member of their group. They touched and groomed him and seemed interested in his camera, so he set up a tripod, framed the shot and let the smart monkeys figure out for themselves what to do.

He maintained during the court hearings that animals couldn't own copyrights, while PETA argued that copyright is not restricted to people because other non-human entities such as corporations can hold copyrights.

After a federal trial judge in San Francisco dismissed the lawsuit on the ground that U.S. copyright law does not explicitly allow animals to sue, PETA appealed to the 9th U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

A three-judge panel heard arguments in the case in July but had not yet issued a decision. This week’s settlement ended the case.

PETA General Counsel Jeff Kerr said in an additional, separate comment, "PETA's groundbreaking case sparked a massive international discussion about the need to extend fundamental rights to animals for their own sake, not in relation to how they can be exploited by humans."

"Thanks to this settlement, sales of the photographs that Naruto indisputably took will help protect and support him, his community of macaques, and their Indonesian home," Kerr said.

Bay City News Service and Patch's Beth Dalbey contributed to this report.

Photo: Self-portrait of a female Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra) in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, who had picked up photographer David Slater's camera and photographed herself with it. (Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons)