The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction
In 2011, a macaque monkey used a camera belonging to British photographer David Slater in Indonesia to take a self-portrait. The selfie picture became famous worldwide after it was published in the British media. In 2014 Slater sent a removal request to Wikimedia Commons, which indicated that the pi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
2016-03-01
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| Series: | Internet Policy Review |
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| Online Access: | https://policyreview.info/node/398 |
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| author | Andrés Guadamuz |
| author_facet | Andrés Guadamuz |
| author_sort | Andrés Guadamuz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2011, a macaque monkey used a camera belonging to British photographer David Slater in Indonesia to take a self-portrait. The selfie picture became famous worldwide after it was published in the British media. In 2014 Slater sent a removal request to Wikimedia Commons, which indicated that the picture was in the public domain because it had been taken by the monkey and animals cannot own copyright works.
While most of the legal analysis so far has been centred around US law, this article takes a completely different approach. Re-assessing jurisdictional issues, I examine the case from a UK and European perspective. The monkey selfie is of importance to internet policy: it has a lot to teach us about online jurisdiction. Under current originality rules, David Slater has a good copyright claim for ownership of the picture. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c91927d7dade4250a3cfdb0714e0b9b2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2197-6775 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-03-01 |
| publisher | Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Internet Policy Review |
| spelling | doaj-art-c91927d7dade4250a3cfdb0714e0b9b22025-08-20T02:46:39ZengAlexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and SocietyInternet Policy Review2197-67752016-03-015110.14763/2016.1.398The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdictionAndrés Guadamuz0University of SussexIn 2011, a macaque monkey used a camera belonging to British photographer David Slater in Indonesia to take a self-portrait. The selfie picture became famous worldwide after it was published in the British media. In 2014 Slater sent a removal request to Wikimedia Commons, which indicated that the picture was in the public domain because it had been taken by the monkey and animals cannot own copyright works. While most of the legal analysis so far has been centred around US law, this article takes a completely different approach. Re-assessing jurisdictional issues, I examine the case from a UK and European perspective. The monkey selfie is of importance to internet policy: it has a lot to teach us about online jurisdiction. Under current originality rules, David Slater has a good copyright claim for ownership of the picture.https://policyreview.info/node/398CopyrightEuropean lawMonkeySelfie |
| spellingShingle | Andrés Guadamuz The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction Internet Policy Review Copyright European law Monkey Selfie |
| title | The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction |
| title_full | The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction |
| title_fullStr | The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction |
| title_full_unstemmed | The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction |
| title_short | The monkey selfie: copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction |
| title_sort | monkey selfie copyright lessons for originality in photographs and internet jurisdiction |
| topic | Copyright European law Monkey Selfie |
| url | https://policyreview.info/node/398 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andresguadamuz themonkeyselfiecopyrightlessonsfororiginalityinphotographsandinternetjurisdiction AT andresguadamuz monkeyselfiecopyrightlessonsfororiginalityinphotographsandinternetjurisdiction |