Monkey See Monkey Sue: 9th Circuit Says No

The 9th Circuit has determined that animals cannot sue for copyright infringement.  At issue was the following: a monkey, Naruto, was a seven-year-old crested macaque that lived—and, as the Court noted, may still live—in a reserve on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. In 2011, a wildlife photographer, David Slater, left his camera unattended in the reserve. Naruto allegedly took several photographs of himself with Slater's camera. Slater published the photos in a book.  PETA sued Slater (and the publisher) for copyright infringement on behalf of Naruto.

The Ninth Circuit held that not only did PETA lack standing as Naruto's "next friend," but Naruto himself lacked standing under the Copyright Act to pursue a claim for infringement because "[i]f the statute does not so plainly state, then animals do not have statutory standing. The Copyright Act does not expressly authorize animals to file copyright infringement suits under the statute."