A federal appeals court is ruling that a monkey can't sue for copyright infringement on his selfie. The ruling comes after photographer David Slater set up his camera in an Indonesian forest, and Naruto, a crested macaque monkey, took photos of himself. PETA sued after Slater published those pictures, claiming that Naruto's copyright was infringed since he took those photos. Initially, the lawsuit was dismissed after the court ruled that a monkey lacks the standing to sue. But, PETA appealed saying the U.S. copyright act doesn't say the author of the work has to be human. Today, Circuit Judge Carlos Bea said, "We conclude that this monkey - and all animals, since they are not human - lacks statutory standing under the Copyright Act. We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court."
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