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When a monkey pressed the button, apparently:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28684353

The online site, Wikipedia, has rejected a photographer's request to remove a set of photos of a crested black macaque because the photos were taken by the monkey.

British photographer, David Slater, says he owns the portraits taken when the monkey snatched his camera in Indonesia in 2011.

Wikipedia believes that although the photos were taken on the photographer's camera, he does not own the copyright because he did not take the photos. The Wikimedia Foundation spokeswoman, Katherine Maher, said that under US law no one owns the copyright.

And, since nobody legally owns the images:

Talk about the law making a monkey out of you...

That incident reminds of this classic Simpson's scene:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem

I'm actually quite surprised at Wikipedia. One would think there are other photos of Macaques available....

This just seems really stupid overall. Far as I'm concerned, the photographer should own those photos.

Or the monkey should sue.

Either way is really fine with me.

I think the photographer should own them. I can see where they are coming from with animals being unable to hold copyright; but to my mind it would then have to apply to images taken from a remote camera device - such as documentaries where the camera is attached to an animal with no actual human interaction once attached. I'm pretty sure National Geographic would have something to say about that.

It's no different to a remote controlled camera to my mind - the shutter might not be pressed by a photographer standing next to the camera, but he has made all the effort to ensure things are set up for the photo (and may well have spent heavily to make it possible).