Monkey business: Wikimedia refuses photographer copyright of selfie 'because macaque took photo'

A photographer behind this hilarious ‘macaque selfie’ image is locked in a legal battle after Wikimedia refused to remove the picture because ‘the monkey took it’.

David Slater, from Coleford, Gloucestershire, was taking photos of macaques on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in 2011 when the animals began to investigate his equipment.

A black crested macaque appeared to be checking out its appearance in the lens and it wasn’t long before it hijacked the camera and began snapping away.

At the time David said: 'They were quite mischievous jumping all over my equipment, and it looked like they were already posing for the camera when one hit the button.

'The sound got his attention and he kept pressing it. At first it scared the rest of them away but they soon came back - it was amazing to watch.

'He must have taken hundreds of pictures by the time I got my camera back, but not very many were in focus. He obviously hadn't worked that out yet.'

Wikimedia are using one of David’s macaque images without his permission on their Wikimedia Commons site - a collection of 22,302,592 images and video files that are free to use by anyone online.

The site offers a link for people to download the original file for David’s image and states: 'This file is in the public domain because as the work of a non-human animal, it has no human author in whom copyright is vested.'

David said Wikimedia’s decision to include his image in their database had affected his livelihood and had resulted in a loss of earnings because they were actively encouraging people to use his image for free.

He is now looking to take legal action against the US based company and could sue for statutory damages of up to $30,000.

He said: 'It’s all based on a technicality. I own the photo but because the monkey pressed the trigger and took the photo, they’re claiming the monkey owns the copyright.

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'There’s a lot more to copyright than who pushes the trigger on the camera. I set up the shot, I was behind all the components in taking that image.

'The problem is they’re telling people it’s free to use because it’s in the public domain, they even have a link for people to download the high-res, so they’re actively encouraging people to use it however they like.

'Most reputable publications will pay to use the image, but Wikimedia encouraging those who would normally have paid to use the image, not to.

'They don’t know the story behind the image. They are basing their decision on stories they have gleaned from the press they have made no attempt to find out the facts.

Wikimedia Commons declined to comment.