The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has refused to reconsider its decision that a monkey lacks standing to sue for copyright infringement.

The case involves a renowned dispute over the ownership of a photograph of a Macaque monkey.

The monkey, called Naruto, took a ‘selfie’ in 2011 using photographer David Slater’s camera in Indonesia. It wasn’t long before the photo went viral.

In 2015, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed a complaint on behalf of Naruto as a ‘next friend’. The organisation argued that the photo belonged to Naruto and requested that any profits created from the photo be spent on the monkey and preserving its natural habitat.

In that decision, the court said that Naruto lacked statutory standing as animals are not authorised to file copyright infringement suits under the Copyright Act.

The Ninth Circuit ruled that PETA could not assert ‘next friend’ status as the organisation did not demonstrate a relationship with the monkey. The court also said an animal cannot be represented by a ‘next friend’.

Source: WIPR