The U.S. Copyright Office responded to a somewhat unconventional photograph of a female macaque monkey. The Copyright Office stated that “a photograph taken by a monkey” is not eligible for copyright protection.
In 2011, British photographer David J. Slater spent three days in Indonesia to photograph black macaque monkeys. During the three days, a female macaque snatched Slater’s camera and snapped a few pictures. One picture in particular was a macaque smiling into the camera; thus, the first monkey ‘selfie’ was born.
Slater sold the …
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