Ninth Circuit Stops Monkeying Around And Denies En Banc Review Of The Monkey Selfie Case

from the it-ain't-over-till-its-over dept

Tue, Sep 4th 2018 3:38pm — Cathy Gellis

Whatever will we do without the Monkey Selfie case rearing its not-actually-copyrighted head every few months? We might finally get to find out, now that the Ninth Circuit has declined to rehear the appeal en banc. This denial now makes clear that monkeys lack standing to sue for copyright, at least within the Ninth Circuit. Someday (hopefully not soon) we may find out what other Circuits have to say about primate copyrights, but for now we can finally be confident that they lack standing to sue over them here.

Provided that no cert petition is granted, of course. And given that this is a case that has thus far steadfastly refused to end, it is way too soon to be confident that this is truly the last we've heard from Naruto or any of his alleged next friends. We should at least know whether a cert petition's been filed in about three months or so, though (see Rule 13), so stay tuned...

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: 9th circuit, copyright, david slater, monkey selfie, naruto, standing
Companies: peta

30 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Stephen T. Stone (profile), 4 Sep 2018 @ 3:47pm

Geez, this case is taking as long as the monkey’s namesake anime—and with a lot more filler, to boot. Who writes this crap?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Capt ICE Enforcer, 4 Sep 2018 @ 4:19pm

Oh No
Oh no, now the monkeys have no reason to take pictures. Why, Oh Why!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 4 Sep 2018 @ 4:30pm

So Far, So Biologically Correct ...
... but not doubt somebody will try to confuse the issue by bringing apes into it ...

(Simple way to tell the difference: monkeys have tails, apes (like chimpanzees and gorillas) don’t.)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
hij (profile), 4 Sep 2018 @ 4:30pm

Don't stop me now
The Supreme Court really needs to hear this. An overly educated ape (or lawyer as the case may be) needs to stand in front of the highest court in the US and explain how a less educated monkey took a picture with a camera, and then explain how it was a creative expression of the plaintiff.

Then other apes (or reporters as the case may be) will make the inevitable comparisons between legal briefs and tossing one's poop.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
norahc (profile), 4 Sep 2018 @ 4:39pm

Energizer needs to replace their rabbit with a macaque monkey...

It keeps going, and going, and going
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Atkray (profile), 4 Sep 2018 @ 5:10pm

great news
Now Naruto is free to pursue his new career with monkii bars.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ben (profile), 4 Sep 2018 @ 5:10pm

Re: So Far, So Biologically Correct ...
But!

Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails,
They were bitten off by whales,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Bergman (profile), 4 Sep 2018 @ 5:21pm

Re:
It could be worse, they could have named him Goku.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2018 @ 6:31pm

What an awful court decision. Now the monkeys will have no incentive to buy cameras and pursue a career in photography.

Look. Just look at the sales of professional cameras in the last three years. Sales are falling off a cliff since this decision.

The monkey haters will not be happy until both Canon and Nikon are bankrupt. What a travesty of justice.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2018 @ 8:35pm

out_of_the_blue isn't going to like this, is he?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Sep 2018 @ 8:37pm

SCOTUS SCOTUS SCOTUS!!!!!!

Because this stupid case getting centori would be the pinnacle of people focusing on bullshit while the nation is going to complete shit.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Toom1275 (profile), 4 Sep 2018 @ 9:24pm

Re:
With no judgement money and no royalties, how will the monkey's great-grand-descendents be able to be financially secure?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
oliver (profile), 5 Sep 2018 @ 12:21am

Dead parrot?
This case needs to seize to be, to kick its bucket, to push up the daisies, to be an ex-case!

Cheers, oliver
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Avideogameplayer, 5 Sep 2018 @ 2:00am

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Sep 2018 @ 5:29am

I, for one, welcome our monkey overlords.

I'll turn off the lights on my way out.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
JoeCool (profile), 5 Sep 2018 @ 5:33am

Decades from now
This will be recognized as the cause that drove the apes to overthrow human civilization to form a new planet.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Sep 2018 @ 5:40am

Re: Re:
Or Luffy.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DannyB (profile), 5 Sep 2018 @ 5:58am

This decision is so wrong!
If primates can enforce copyright (see: RIAA / MPAA) then why can't they own copyrights?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ninja (profile), 5 Sep 2018 @ 7:01am

Planet of the Apes: zombie apepocalypse

It'll probably pop up at some point in the future again.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Oblate (profile), 5 Sep 2018 @ 7:09am

We should at least know whether a cert petition's been filed in about three months or so,...

I know what the monkey would be filing (or flinging) if he knew about this case.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Sep 2018 @ 8:07am

I'm surprised the case has potentially died before the monkey.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
NeghVar (profile), 5 Sep 2018 @ 8:18am

In other news
Environmentalists lobby for ferns to be granted copyright for their fractals
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Sep 2018 @ 9:46am

The number of monkey jokes in the comments on this article is just bananas.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Toom1275 (profile), 5 Sep 2018 @ 10:53am

Re:
But of course. Making puns has its appeel.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That One Guy (profile), 5 Sep 2018 @ 5:49pm

Re: This decision is so wrong!
Oiy, that was unfair and uncalled for, comparing your average monkey to that lot. They monkeys have already got it bad enough without being lumped in with them.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Sep 2018 @ 7:18pm

Re:
_out_of_theblue isn't going to like this, is he?

Why was this truth censored?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Wendy Cockcroft, 6 Sep 2018 @ 2:28am

Re: Re:
Because your constant troll-baiting is a) old, and b) not relevant.

We know!

We don't care.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 Sep 2018 @ 3:15am

Re: Re: Re:
Oh, I didn't make the original post.

I just think it's amusing that blue, Hamilton and John Smith keep banging that old "Techdirt only 'censors' posts they disagree with" drum.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous FBI Agent, 6 Sep 2018 @ 11:00pm

This has GOT to be racist.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 18 Sep 2018 @ 3:46am

If it was Bigfoot, would there be standing?
[ link to this | view in thread ]