The “monkey selfie” was back in the news last week. The photographer says he owns the copyright. Wikimedia says no one owns the copyright, it’s in the public domain. Now, in a lawsuit brought by the animals rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, it says that Naruto, the crested black macaque in the photo owns the copyright, and is suing the photographer and his publisher for copyright infringement. Can you really sue on behalf of a monkey? Can a monkey really own a copyright? Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., examines the lawsuit and the copyright laws and tries to make sense of all this monkey business.
