In 2011, a wildlife photographer travelled to an Indonesian forest to photograph endangered macaques. But the animals refused to cooperate, and so frustrated, he set his camera on a tripod, adjusted the settings, and stepped away. After he left, the monkeys turned his equipment into a plaything. One pressed the shutter. This resulted in a striking, expressive, and unmistakably creative photograph. The image went viral, and then a lawsuit ensued. That became the Naruto v. Slater case.
The United States courts were asked to decide who owned the copyright in that photograph. Continue reading…