Social media sites are transforming not only the daily lives of consumers, but also how companies interact with consumers. Here at Morrison Foerster, across all of our practice groups, we are seeing complex, cutting-edge legal issues arising out of social media. As with the Internet boom during the mid-to-late 1990s, social media is generating new legal questions at a far faster pace than the law’s ability to provide answers to such questions. In an effort to stay on top of these emerging issues, and to keep our clients and friends informed of new developments, Morrison Foerster publishes this blog devoted to the law and business of social media.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Aaron is the chair of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group and co-chair of the Interactive + Digital Media Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals.Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data- and technology-intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud-based technology, digital media (social media, AR/VR, gaming, streaming media, AdTech), AI, healthcare, consumer electronics, e-commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on branding and marketing, trademark licensing, and content-related transactions, as well as the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin-offs, and private equity investments.He has represented clients such as Autodesk, Meta, OpenAI, Splunk, Konami, Kaiser Permanente, SoftBank, Visa, and Yahoo, among others.Aaron has been recognized by numerous publications for his work on market-defining technology transactions. He is currently ranked by Chambers USA for “Technology Transactions.”Aaron also serves as co-editor of Socially Aware, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics. Aaron is also a sought-after speaker on new and emerging areas of law, and is a frequent presenter and panelist at conferences and legal services programs. In addition to his active practice, Aaron regularly provides pro bono assistance to various nonprofit and charitable organizations such as Common Sense Media and the Starlight Children’s Foundation. He is a member of the board of directors of California Lawyers for the Arts.While in law school at the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Aaron served as executive editor of the California Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Following law school, Aaron served as law clerk to the Honorable William H. Orrick and the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, both United States District Judges for the Northern District of California.

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Aaron is the chair of our Technology Transactions Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals. Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data– and technology–intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud computing, AR/VR, AI, gaming, healthcare, consumer electronics, social media, e–commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin–offs, and private equity investments.

Aaron P. Rubin

Lawrence Gallick is of counsel in the firm’s Austin office and a member of the Technology Transactions Group.Lawrence focuses his practice on technology transactions and licensing matters. His diverse experience includes advising on SaaS agreements, cross-licensing agreements, research and collaboration agreements, development agreements, and distribution agreements. He counsels a broad range of companies across the software, hardware, life sciences, biotech and FinTech spaces, as well as other entities including universities.He advises clients in connection with general corporate matters including contract negotiations, and leasing and technology placement agreements.Lawrence also serves as co-editor of <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/" target="_blank">Socially Aware</a>, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics.Prior to joining the firm, Lawrence was counsel at another major law firm. Before earning his law degree, Lawrence was a web consultant, project manager, and web developer in Portland, Oregon, where he managed and consulted on projects using industry methodologies and performed custom development and integration of content management systems.Lawrence was named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2015 and 2018–2022, and is licensed in both California and New York. Lawrence earned his J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he was the electronic systems editor for the Buffalo Law Review and awarded the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Intellectual Property Law.

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Lawrence Gallick

Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster.Anthony advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. He regularly advises companies on the IP aspects of their M&A transactions. His clients include technology, digital media and content for television and music, financial services, and communications companies with diverse intellectual property assets and issues.His practice focuses on the legal aspects of developing, licensing, and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts, including outsourcing transactions, as well as content and data licenses. He regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to licensing and commercialization of digital media and content, digital content that is distributed over the Internet or streamed, mobile applications and social media, as well as the licensing of recorded music for distribution via digital platforms. Anthony is also experienced with issues relating to open-source software, software development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud-based technology, and protection of proprietary information.Anthony has extensive experience working on matters involving disruptive technologies, such as blockchain. He has helped fintech clients with general intellectual property issues in connection with terms of service for online financial products and services.Anthony is an integral part of the outside pro bono legal team for nonprofit organizations based in New York, including advising clients on legal issues regarding entertainment, social media, privacy rights, and the negotiation of outsourcing and service agreements. Anthony received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2009. He received his B.S. from Cornell University in 2004.

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Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster. He advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. His clients include technology, media, and communications companies with considerable intellectual property assets. His practice focuses on the legal aspects of licensing and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts. He also regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to mobile applications and social media.

Anthony M. Ramirez

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I confess: I have mixed emotions regarding the iconic “monkey-selfie” photo and all the hubbub it has created. Don’t get me wrong; I think monkeys are wonderful

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Monkey-Selfie Case Returns—To Court & (Maybe) a Theater Near You

Monkey-Selfie Case Returns—To Court & (Maybe) a Theater Near You | Socially Aware

I confess: I have mixed emotions regarding the iconic “monkey-selfie” photo and all the hubbub it has created.Don’t get me wrong; I think monkeys are wonderful, and the photo deserves its iconic status. Who can resist smiling while viewing that famous image of Naruto, the macaque monkey who allegedly snapped the self-portrait?And the monkey selfie has been a boon to legal blogs. Our own posts regarding the photo have been among the most viewed content on Socially Aware (one of our posts prompted a call from my mother, who felt strongly that Naruto should be entitled to a copyright in the photo).But, let’s face it, in an era where technology disruption is generating so many critical and difficult copyright issues, the law relevant to the monkey selfie is pretty straightforward, at least in the United States. As the U.S. Copyright Office states in its Compendium II of Copyright Office Practices, for a work to be copyrightable, it must “owe its origin to a human being,” and that materials produced solely by nature, by plants or by animals do not count. U.S. courts have reached the same conclusion. (Although I note that David Slater, the nature photographer whose camera was used to take the photo, claims that he—and not the macaque—is in fact the author of the photo for copyright purposes.)Admittedly, there is an interesting discussion to be had around whether the law should be changed (especially given the fact that, under U.S. law, corporations can be authors for copyright law purposes). Moreover, media accounts of the monkey selfie story often miss the even larger issue: If human involvement is required to create copyrighted works, what does that mean for the growing number of news articles, music and other works created entirely by artificial intelligence (AI), or videos generated by Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, often as a result of considerable investment by the companies employing such AI and IoT technologies?So, with that background, you’ll understand why it is with some trepidation that I turn to recent developments in Naruto v. Slater, the so-called “monkey-selfie suit,” which is back in the headlines again.Last month, after refusing to grant a joint motion to dismiss that the parties filed after having reached a settlement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4444209-Naruto-Monkey-PETA-v-Slater-CA9-Opinion-04-23-18.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">held that: (1) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) lacked standing to sue on behalf of a monkey, and (2) animals cannot sue for copyright infringement</a>.<h5>The Background</h5>PETA brought the case to challenge photographer David Slater’s copyright claim on portraits—including the famous monkey-selfie image—that were taken when the macaque Naruto allegedly intentionally and repeatedly pressed the shutter on a camera that Slater had set up in Indonesia. After oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit, the suit settled, with Slater agreeing to donate 25% of his revenue from the photos to charities that protect the macaque’s habitat.<h5>Ninth Circuit Snubs the Settlement…</h5>But on April 13, 2018, the Ninth Circuit refused to grant the parties’ joint motion to dismiss the case, holding that “courts must be particularly wary of abetting ‘strategic behavior’ on the part of institutional litigants whose continuing interest in the development in the law may transcend their immediate interest in the outcome of a particular case.”<h5>…And Then Decides the Case on Its Merits</h5>When, on April 24, the Ninth Circuit finally did decide the case on its merits, the court cited <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14748284771413043760&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cetacean v. Bush</a>, a case holding that animals can’t sue unless Congress makes it clear they can. But, as The Verge <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/24/17271410/monkey-selfie-naruto-slater-copyright-peta" target="_blank" rel="noopener">points out</a>, the three-judge panel that wrote the opinion and its concurrence devoted a lot of text to expressing their disapproval of similar lawsuits that are brought by organizations like PETA and, according to the court, use “unwitting pawns” in pursuit of “ideological goals.”The Ninth Circuit concluded, based on Cetacean and “the text of the Copyright Act as a whole, the district court did not err in concluding that Naruto—and, more broadly, animals other than humans—lack statutory standing to sue under the Copyright Act.”<h5>Hollywood Came Calling</h5>Because PETA is unlikely to file another appeal, the drama between Naruto and Slater probably won’t play out again in court, but it might get a second life on the big screen. Condé Nast Entertainment has <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/monkey-selfie-film-works-at-conde-nast-1109061?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%27s%20Today%20in%20Entertainment_now_2018-05-07%2010:10:53_rrahman&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired the rights to Slater’s life</a>, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Though that studio’s films are usually based on stories that have run in its glossy magazines, in this case Condé Nast “skipped” publishing a Naruto v. Slater story, buying “life rights first so that it could move quickly on a movie.”With Naruto’s tale coming to the big screen, copyright lawyers can expect to continue to be peppered with monkey-selfie questions at family gatherings and other social events, perhaps for years to come.*       *       *For even more on the monkey selfie, please see the following Socially Aware articles: <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2014/08/14/monkey-in-the-middle-of-selfie-copyright-dispute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monkey in the Middle of Selfie Copyright Dispute</a> and <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2014/11/18/monkey-selfie-redux/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monkey Selfie Redux</a>.