'Monkey Selfie' Copyright Lawsuit Comes to San Francisco Federal Court

Mina Kim

Sep 25, 2015 at

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(Naruto the Macaque/David Slater/Wikimedia Commons)

The crested black macaque monkey who took his grinning self-portrait is now the subject of a federal lawsuit filed in San Francisco this week. The animal rights group PETA argues that the macaque, named Naruto, should be declared the author and owner of his photographs, which were taken during a 2011 trip to Indonesia by British nature photographer David Slater. We discuss the lawsuit’s chance of success, and the movement to apply legal concepts of personhood to animals.

More: Famous Monkey Selfie Is Mine, UK Photographer Argues (BBC)

Guests:

Jordan Weissmann, senior business and economic correspondent, Slate.com

David Grimm, deputy news editor, Science magazine; author of 'Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs'

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