In this episode of No Infringement Intended, Austin Padgett and Rusty Close unpack the infamous monkey selfie case — Naruto v. Slater — where PETA sued a wildlife photographer on behalf of a grinning Indonesian macaque, arguing the monkey owned the copyright to his own selfie. They break down why the Ninth Circuit dismissed the claim, why the court is deciding who is actually a friend of the monkey, and why the question of whether photographer David Slater actually owns the photo remains unanswered to this day. Austin and Rusty connect the case to the AI copyright debate, explaining why a ruling about a monkey pressing a shutter is now the legal cornerstone for how courts and the Copyright Office are answering the question of who — if anyone — owns AI-generated work.

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