Monkey selfie: American court rules that monkeys can't own their own photography

The selfie has attracted international attention - and a row over its ownership

A court in America has decided that this monkey doesn't legally own the photo that she took of herself.

This macaque monkey won world-wide fame in 2011, when she got hold of a photographer's equipment, and took her own selfie.

But it led to a row over who owned the photograph.

Knowing who owns the photo is important, because it affects copyright.

What is copyright?

Copyright protects the photo under law, so that people can't use it without the owner's permission.

Some people said that they could use the picture without anyone's permission, because it was taken by a monkey - not a person.

But the photographer, David Slater, argued that the photo was his, because it was his equipment.

Now an American Judge has decided that the monkey doesn't own the photograph.

Even though animals are protected by the law like people are, he said that it doesn't mean that they can own things under the law as well.