CEI Responds to Opinion in Monkey Selfie Case

Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an appeal in Naruto v. Slater, more commonly known as the monkey selfie case. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) lost the underlying appeal, and the panel also remanded the case to the district court to set attorneys’ fees against PETA. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed a proposed amicus brief in the case which can be found here.

The opinion reads, in part, “we conclude that this monkey—and all animals, since they are not human—lacks statutory standing under the Copyright Act.”

CEI attorney Frank Bednarz said, “We are gratified that the Ninth Circuit rejected PETA’s self-serving attempt to avoid the consequences of lodging a meritless appeal, and that PETA will have to pay reasonable attorneys’ fees to the defendants. We are also happy with the court’s common sense opinion that animals (and self-proclaimed ‘next friends’ of animals) cannot sue under the Copyright Act.”