|
 Naruto, a six-year-old macaque who lives free in the Tangkoko
Reserve on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, took the image and
several others about four years ago using a camera left unattended
by British photographer David Slater, People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) said in the suit.
The so-called Monkey Selfies that resulted came from "a series of
purposeful and voluntary actions by Naruto, unaided by Slater," said
the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
"Naruto has the right to own and benefit from the copyright ... in
the same manner and to the same extent as any other author," the
suit said. (Link to 'selfie' published by PETA:
http://bit.ly/1V8Hnnl)
Slater told Reuters he felt "rather bemused" and persecuted by the
lawsuit, which he said seemed to be a publicity stunt.
He said he was very disappointed not to have been contacted by PETA
in advance, and described himself as a low-paid wildlife
photographer who has been struggling to earn a living.
"I am sympathetic in my book for animals having rights to property
in some circumstances, but in no way do I mean copyrights," Slater
said in an e-mail.
"Their focus seems more aimed at making me out to be a criminal than
someone who loves and respects and fights for animals. ... I have to
wonder what are the true motives behind this attack on me," he
wrote.
The lawsuit names Slater, his UK-based company Wildlife
Personalities, and Blurb, Inc., a Delaware-based corporation which
beginning last year published and sold for profit in the United
States a book containing copies of the photos. Naruto's orange-eyed,
beaming selfie is its front cover.
PETA said it was bringing the legal action on the monkey's behalf
because he could not, "due to inaccessibility and incapacity," and
that the court had jurisdiction because of the book sales made in
the United States.
The Copyright Act of 1976 was "sufficiently broad ... to extend to
any original work, including those created by Naruto," the group's
complaint read.
[to top of second column] |
Sulawesi crested macaques are critically endangered, according to
the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of
Threatened Species.
Between 4,000 to 6,000 live on the island, and PETA said their
numbers have decreased by about 90 percent in the last 25 years,
mostly due to human encroachment on their rainforest homes.
PETA asked the court to declare Naruto the author and copyright
owner of the photos, and to award the monkey damages.
It also sought a court order letting PETA and a noted primatologist,
Dr. Antje Engelhardt of Georg-August University, Gottingen, Germany,
administer Naruto's rights on condition that all proceeds be used
solely for the benefit of him, his family and community, "including
the preservation of their habitat."
A spokesman for Blurb, which describes itself as a self-publishing
and marketing platform, said the company did not comment on pending
litigation.
(Reporting by Daniel Wallis in Denver; Editing by Sandra Maler)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
