Can a Monkey Get a Copyright & Issue a Takedown?

An anonymous reader writes "Last week, the Daily Mail published a story about some monkeys in Indonesia who happened upon a camera and took some photos of themselves. The photos are quite cute. However, Techdirt noticed that the photos had copyright notices on them, and started a discussion over who actually held the copyright in question, noting that, if anyone did, the monkeys had the best claim, and certainly not the photographer. Yet, the news agency who claimed copyright issued a takedown to Techdirt! When presented with the point that it's unlikely the news agency could hold a legitimate copyright, the agency told Techdirt it didn't matter. Techdirt claims that using the photos for such a discussion is a clear case of fair use, an argument which has so far been ignored."

Comments

Maybe a million monkeys

[perpenso]

Can a Monkey Get a Copyright & Issue a Takedown?

Maybe a million monkeys could do it, as they do with Shakespeare.

Re:Maybe a million monkeys

[willworkforbeer]

...not to get too technical, but in the industry that's known as one "Michael Bay Script Unit"

Re:Maybe a million monkeys

[jbeaupre]

Shakespeare's works are public domain, which is why monkeys can do it. It might take a million of them to figure out how to do it, but every one of them knows they'll be turned into monkey stew if they try to write anything by J K Rowling. An encyclopedia of her works, they are still debating.

Re:Maybe a million monkeys

[Adrian Lopez]

Monkees only reproduce works written by others

No kidding. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, a million monkeys typing on a million typewriters will produce some variation upon Finnegan's Wake.

Re:Maybe a million monkeys

[Surt]

"It was the best of times, it was
  blurst of times."

You stupid monkey!

Derivative works?

[BWJones]

Yeah, but what about derivative works like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bwjones/5914210045/ or this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bwjones/5914755036/

Re:Derivative works?

[PPH]

If you'd have the monkey inserted into a photo of Congress' debate over raising the national debt ceiling, we might not have suspected Photoshop.

Infinite Monkeys

[retaj]

Would an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of cameras still have more fun flinging poo?

Re:Seems fair

[artor3]

I know that if you are the sole possessor of, e.g., a discontinued book, you become the copyright holder of that work.

[citation needed]

The OP is clearly american, and americans are under the belief that their words and actions are law and always right.

[citation needed]

Monkey Business

[thetsguy]

Now this qualifies to be a monkey business

Or..

[backslashdot]

100,000 monkeys for a Bush speech

The moneky speaks his mind

[RevWaldo]

And three monkeys sat in a coconut tree
Discussing things as they are said to be
Said one to other now listen, you two
“There’s a certain rumour that just can’t be true
That man descended from our noble race
Why, the very idea is a big disgrace, yea”
No monkey ever deserted his wife
Starved her baby and ruined her life

Yea, the monkey speaks his mind

And you’ve never known a mother monk
To leave her babies with others to bunk
And passed them on from one to another
‘Til they scarcely knew which was their mother
Yea, the monkey speak his mind

And another thing you will never see
A monkey build a fence around a coconut tree
And let all the coconuts go to waste
Forbidding all other monkeys to come and taste
Why, if I put a fence around this tree
Starvation would force you to steal from me

Yea, the monkey speaks his mind

Here’s another thing a monkey won’t do
Go out on a night and get all in a stew
Or use a gun or a club or a knife
And take another monkey’s life
Yes, man descended, the worthless bum
But, brothers, from us he did not come

Yea, the monkey speaks his mind


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