No, a primate can't own a copyright to a selfie it took with a
photographer's camera.
<http://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/384531-federal-appeals-court-upholds-ruling-that-animals-cannot-sue-under>
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), sued the
photographer on behalf of the button-pressing macaque. The case dragged
on for seven years and pretty much bankrupted the photographer.
Thankfully, the 9th District Court affirmed the decision of the lower
court and ruled that PETA should pay the photographer's attorney's fees.
So after seven years of legal hell, he may be at least back where he
started financially.
The legal decision runs 41 pages(!) No, I didn't read the whole thing,
I just text-searched it to see if the photographer won his legal
expenses. None of the media reports I read said anything about legal
fees, and that can be just as important as winning one's case.
Now let's just hope PETA doesn't appeal to the Supreme Court.
--Peter
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