If a monkey takes a selfie in the forest, who owns the copyright?(washingtonpost.com)
washingtonpost.com
If a monkey takes a selfie in the forest, who owns the copyright?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/08/06/if-a-monkey-takes-a-selfie-in-the-forest-who-owns-the-copyright-no-one-says-wikimedia
3 comments
The man who brought the camera. The monkey cannot legally own things, copyrights or other, so the man owns the photos. 10 years ago this would not even come up. Why have we gotten so "feel good" of late? Life is not unicorns and glitter and nor should it be.
Suppose instead of a monkey, a human stole the camera and activated the shutter. Who would own the copyright in this scenario? I assume the thief. The consequence of this assumption is that the camera owner is not the copyright owner. The monkey may not be endowed with ownership rights, but this does not mean that the camera owner receives these rights. Instead, no-one owns the copyright, and by "no-one" I mean everyone.
What if an artist leaves a cheap camera chained to a bench with a note saying "Take photos of yourself!".
Who owns the copyright there? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/238859335/leaving-a-dis...
http://laughingsquid.com/new-york-shots-leaving-a-disposable...
Who owns the copyright there? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/238859335/leaving-a-dis...
http://laughingsquid.com/new-york-shots-leaving-a-disposable...
I'm not a lawyer. There may be an implied transfer of rights in the "Take photos of yourself! [for my project]".
Anyone else reminded by this NYT Magazine article about a legal team suing on behalf of a chimpanzee for his freedom?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/magazine/the-rights-of-man...
http://www.nonhumanrightsproject.org
Maybe after Lessig is done with the Mayday PAC he can opine on non-human IP rights?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/magazine/the-rights-of-man...
http://www.nonhumanrightsproject.org
Maybe after Lessig is done with the Mayday PAC he can opine on non-human IP rights?
[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem