jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

He who pushes the button owns the copyright. Remember that cellphone selfie of many actors that Ellen DeGeneres took, with Bradley Cooper pushing the button? Technically, Bradley owns that shot, although Ellen posted it online.

So what happens when a monkey grabs your camera and starts taking pictures? Wikipedia pushed the point, and it went to court. No one owns the copyright. It becomes public domain. The owner of the camera that took the selfie below has no rights to the image that could have been a mealticket for him. Sadly, monkeys cannot hold copyrights, despite their opposable thumbs.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Thanks for positng the info.
(That would make a great avatar, Jerry.)

drmarty Loc: Pine City, NY

Nice teeth!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yep! Lots of fruit and nuts. Imagine being the photographer, thinking he could make a fortune from those pictures.

XKaliber

I am probably going to catch MUCHO FLACK for this... and NO.. I am not born nor bread in Missouri, however, the more I look at the sampling of images that simian is credited with creating, the more I doubt the story. I mean just think about it. Consider all the actions and corrections we all go through to capture the best digital creation we can. Now look at that picture with the ape smiling. We are suppose to believe this monkey got everything just right.. held the camera just right, smiled just right, got the distance from lens to face just right, and then clicked the shutter at just the right time, distance, with NO visible shake or movement. It is a LOT easier to believe Ansel Adams has been reincarnated and HE knows Digital!
I know we are expected to believe in fairytales once in awhile.. however this is a bit much for me. Any Atheists out there buying this load of MonkeyShine? It would seem to me the whole Supreme Being thing is easier to accept than what someone is shoveling here. Not even Hollywood and Caesar from "Planet of the Apes" has rolled out THIS "Red Carpet".... YET.

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

I'd like to play devils advocate for just a moment.
Does that mean that the photos that we shoot using laser trip devices or lightning detectors are not our copyright material?
Using this standard that they are setting we would not.
WE didn't press the shutter, the tripper did. Or in the case of the hummingbird tripping a laser trigger, the hummingbird did it...
Food for thought.

:-D

krl48 Loc: NY, PA now SC

Google "monkey selfie copyright issue" and there's more than a few news articles and opinions out there.

If you subscribe to the "infinite monkey theorem", then it becomes easier to believe that one monkey could eventually take a decent picture.

FWIW, these days my ratio of shutter clicks to decent pictures probably isn't as good as the monkey's. :lol:

Another interesting point - the issue of copyright in this case is being contested in both the US and the UK.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Wait a minute. Are you saying that something presented on the Web is not true?!

This apparently goes back several years, and the monkeys took hundreds of pictures, so a few keepers could be a possibility, especially if the monkey decided to use Auto.

It does appear to be a real situation, and I think it's a shame that the photographer cannot claim credit. It was his location and his equipment. The monkey didn't upload from the card, nor did he post it online.

I think "smiling" is in the eye of the beholder. How many pictures have you seen of dogs, cats, and dolphins "smiling."?

http://www.diyphotography.net/can-i-use-that-picture-this-flowchart-helps-you-demystify-copyright-law/

http://www.easybranches.eu/european-news/1699744.html

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

The image presented has also been cropped, straightened & possibly edited in other ways... It's not a SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera)that the monkey took....

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

As you said, ..."that the monkey took...."

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

I certainly could be wrong, but my opinion is that if you give a monkey a camera he will be far more interested in taking it apart into small pieces then in using it for it's intended purpose.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Provided you give him access to your JIS screwdrivers. These are essential for working on Japanese screws because they are slightly different from Phillips.

http://www.amazon.com/Hozan-JIS-4-JIS-Screwdriver-3rd/dp/B00A7WAHTU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407501325&sr=8-1&keywords=japanese+screwdrivers

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

I wasn't thinking that he would disassemble it in a factory approved manner! :D

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

He'd probably throw the pieces at the photographer, adding insult to injury.

XKaliber

LOL... soooo Jerry... what side of the fence do you REALLY stand on? Was this or was this not the incident that challenges Moses parting the sea and allowing the Israelites escape from their bondage for the best miracle since the creation?
You are having WAY to much fun with this... and seem to be poking BOTH sides of the issue with a sharp stick!

:roll: