BREAKING: 9th Circuit rules that Naruto has no standing under US Copyright Act
Naruto 😍 If you thought that the infamous Monkey Selfie case was over, well, you were ... wrong! A few weeks ago IP enthusiasts were in fact 'thrilled' to learn that - despite the out-of-court settlement agreement concluded in 2017 - the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit would rule anyway on the case brought by PETA (as next friend) against now economically struggling wildlife photographer David Slater over copyright ownership of a series of selfies taken by Celebs crested macaque Naruto. Today, the Court has ruled that 'an animal ha[s] constitutional standing [ Article III standing ] but lack[s] statutory standing to claim copyright infringement of photographs known as the "Monkey Selfies."' More specifically, the panel confirmed that the "[US] Copyright Act does not expressly authorize animals to file copyright infringement suits." Background But what happened before today's ruling? Here's a quick recap. In ...