Question
After reading the article Hey! Thats my Picture! you will write a structured response using the Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) framework. Follow these steps to ensure your response is clear, well-supported, and logically explained:
Claim (1-2 sentences):
Write a clear and concise statement that answers the question or addresses the prompt.
Your claim should be debatable (not just a fact) and reflect your understanding of the article.
Evidence (3-5 sentences):
Provide specific textual evidence from the article to support your claim.
Use direct quotes or paraphrased information from the article.
Introduce your evidence with a phrase like According to the article… or The author states…
Cite your source properly (mention the author or title if available).
Reasoning (5-8 sentences):
Explain how and why your evidence supports your claim.
Connect the evidence to key concepts, themes, or background knowledge.
Use logical reasoning to show why the evidence is relevant.
If possible, address counterarguments or limitations in the evidence.
David Slater is a British wildlife photographer. He went to Indonesia in 2011 to take pictures of black macaque monkeys in the jungle. Then, the monkeys swiped his camera. After Slater got it back, he got an idea. He could set it up so the monkeys would take self-portraits.
It worked. Now, the monkey "selfies" are on the internet. They're on the Wikipedia website. Anyone can download them for free. But Slater said he owned the copyright to the pictures. According to U.S. and British laws, a copyright protects works of music, writing, and art that have been created. The author or creator of something new gets copyright to that work.
So Slater wanted people to pay him to use the photos.
But Slater's copyright claim was questioned. Wikipedia, a U.S.-based site, said that the photos were in the public domain. That's because Slater didn't take the pictures. The monkeys did. A monkey is not a person. So a monkey can't hold a copyright. U.S. law states that only humans can hold copyrights. So Wikipedia put the photos on its website.
Slater wanted the pictures off Wikipedia. He argued that the pictures were taken with his equipment. The monkeys pressed the button. But Slater set up the self-portraits. He framed them and set the camera on a tripod.
"It wasn't that the monkey stole the camera, went behind the bush, and [took its picture] all by itself," Slater said. He says that the monkeys couldn't have taken the photos without his help.
In August 2014, people argued the case on the internet. Slater said that he had lost money. At first, he was able to sell the photos. But once they were uploaded onto Wikipedia and available for free, no one was interested in buying them.
The U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) supported Wikipedia's claim. In 2014, USCO updated its copyright rules. It said that only works created by humans can be copyrighted under U.S. law. It listed a photo taken by a monkey as an example of something that is not covered by copyright law.
Slater never got copyright of the famous black macaque selfies. However, he was satisfied that his journey ended as it began: to help preserve the black macaque monkeys. "No one had heard of these monkeys," he told The Telegraph. "They were down to the last thousands." Slater said the public interest in the copyright story helped shed a light on the monkeys' risk of becoming extinct.
Selfies are easy to take. Got the camera aimed? Then, press the button. A picture shows up. But what happens inside the camera?
Cameras have a lens inside. Different lenses refract light differently. They change what can be seen through them. They form images that are useful for different purposes.
Lenses can be convex or concave. A convex lens curves outward on both sides. Think about how light comes through lenses. Parallel light rays pass through a convex lens. The rays are refracted inward. They meet at a focal point. It's on the other side of the lens. A concave lens is curved inward on both sides. Rays closest to the edges of the lens are refracted most. Parallel light rays passing through a concave lens don't meet. They are refracted away from each other. Many powerful optical tools use different combinations of lenses.
An illustration depicts how a digital camera works in comparison to the human eye.
Credit: AlexLMX/Shutterstock; Shivendu Jauhari/iStock/Getty Images Plus; Sonsedska Yuliia/Shutterstock; Achieve3000/McGraw Hill
How a digital camera works
Cameras work a lot like eyes do. First, light passes through them. In the eye, the pupil is the opening that lets the light through. The iris controls the size of the pupil. In a camera, the opening is called an aperture. And the camera's iris controls the aperture's size.
A camera's main lens is a convex lens. It makes images of objects. But they must be more than 2 focal lengths away. These images are smaller than the object. They're also upside down. (That's how the eye works, too! But the brain flips it the right way around.)
Eye muscles can change the shape of the lens. This changes the focal point. The camera's lens can slide back and forth. This helps find the camera reach the right focus.
And what about those selfies? Cell phones use digital cameras. Digital means any technology that uses numbers. Computers process information with numbers.
Digital cameras have sensors. A sensor detects light. It changes light into electrical charges. The charges are recorded as numbers. The numbers tell how much light. They also tell the colors. The image shows on the camera's screen. But the numbers are also stored. Then, any computer can read those numbers. It can put the image together again. 10-15 sentences make it seem like a kid wrote this
Claim (1-2 sentences):
Write a clear and concise statement that answers the question or addresses the prompt.
Your claim should be debatable (not just a fact) and reflect your understanding of the article.
Evidence (3-5 sentences):
Provide specific textual evidence from the article to support your claim.
Use direct quotes or paraphrased information from the article.
Introduce your evidence with a phrase like According to the article… or The author states…
Cite your source properly (mention the author or title if available).
Reasoning (5-8 sentences):
Explain how and why your evidence supports your claim.
Connect the evidence to key concepts, themes, or background knowledge.
Use logical reasoning to show why the evidence is relevant.
If possible, address counterarguments or limitations in the evidence.
David Slater is a British wildlife photographer. He went to Indonesia in 2011 to take pictures of black macaque monkeys in the jungle. Then, the monkeys swiped his camera. After Slater got it back, he got an idea. He could set it up so the monkeys would take self-portraits.
It worked. Now, the monkey "selfies" are on the internet. They're on the Wikipedia website. Anyone can download them for free. But Slater said he owned the copyright to the pictures. According to U.S. and British laws, a copyright protects works of music, writing, and art that have been created. The author or creator of something new gets copyright to that work.
So Slater wanted people to pay him to use the photos.
But Slater's copyright claim was questioned. Wikipedia, a U.S.-based site, said that the photos were in the public domain. That's because Slater didn't take the pictures. The monkeys did. A monkey is not a person. So a monkey can't hold a copyright. U.S. law states that only humans can hold copyrights. So Wikipedia put the photos on its website.
Slater wanted the pictures off Wikipedia. He argued that the pictures were taken with his equipment. The monkeys pressed the button. But Slater set up the self-portraits. He framed them and set the camera on a tripod.
"It wasn't that the monkey stole the camera, went behind the bush, and [took its picture] all by itself," Slater said. He says that the monkeys couldn't have taken the photos without his help.
In August 2014, people argued the case on the internet. Slater said that he had lost money. At first, he was able to sell the photos. But once they were uploaded onto Wikipedia and available for free, no one was interested in buying them.
The U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) supported Wikipedia's claim. In 2014, USCO updated its copyright rules. It said that only works created by humans can be copyrighted under U.S. law. It listed a photo taken by a monkey as an example of something that is not covered by copyright law.
Slater never got copyright of the famous black macaque selfies. However, he was satisfied that his journey ended as it began: to help preserve the black macaque monkeys. "No one had heard of these monkeys," he told The Telegraph. "They were down to the last thousands." Slater said the public interest in the copyright story helped shed a light on the monkeys' risk of becoming extinct.
Selfies are easy to take. Got the camera aimed? Then, press the button. A picture shows up. But what happens inside the camera?
Cameras have a lens inside. Different lenses refract light differently. They change what can be seen through them. They form images that are useful for different purposes.
Lenses can be convex or concave. A convex lens curves outward on both sides. Think about how light comes through lenses. Parallel light rays pass through a convex lens. The rays are refracted inward. They meet at a focal point. It's on the other side of the lens. A concave lens is curved inward on both sides. Rays closest to the edges of the lens are refracted most. Parallel light rays passing through a concave lens don't meet. They are refracted away from each other. Many powerful optical tools use different combinations of lenses.
An illustration depicts how a digital camera works in comparison to the human eye.
Credit: AlexLMX/Shutterstock; Shivendu Jauhari/iStock/Getty Images Plus; Sonsedska Yuliia/Shutterstock; Achieve3000/McGraw Hill
How a digital camera works
Cameras work a lot like eyes do. First, light passes through them. In the eye, the pupil is the opening that lets the light through. The iris controls the size of the pupil. In a camera, the opening is called an aperture. And the camera's iris controls the aperture's size.
A camera's main lens is a convex lens. It makes images of objects. But they must be more than 2 focal lengths away. These images are smaller than the object. They're also upside down. (That's how the eye works, too! But the brain flips it the right way around.)
Eye muscles can change the shape of the lens. This changes the focal point. The camera's lens can slide back and forth. This helps find the camera reach the right focus.
And what about those selfies? Cell phones use digital cameras. Digital means any technology that uses numbers. Computers process information with numbers.
Digital cameras have sensors. A sensor detects light. It changes light into electrical charges. The charges are recorded as numbers. The numbers tell how much light. They also tell the colors. The image shows on the camera's screen. But the numbers are also stored. Then, any computer can read those numbers. It can put the image together again. 10-15 sentences make it seem like a kid wrote this
Answers
GPT-4o mini
**Claim:**
David Slater's claim to copyright the monkey selfies taken in Indonesia is fundamentally flawed because, according to U.S. copyright law, only works created by humans can be copyrighted.
**Evidence:**
According to the article "Hey! That's My Picture!", Slater argued that he owned the copyright to the photos since he set up the camera and framed the shots. However, Wikipedia countered this claim, stating that the photos were in the public domain because a monkey, not a human, pressed the button to take the pictures. The article mentions that "the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) supported Wikipedia's claim," emphasizing that only human-created works are eligible for copyright protection. The USCO even listed a photo taken by a monkey as a specific example of something that cannot be copyrighted.
**Reasoning:**
This evidence shows that Slater's ownership claim is inconsistent with established copyright laws that specifically state only humans can hold copyrights. While Slater did play a role in the process by setting up the camera, the act of taking a photograph was performed by a monkey, which legally eliminates his rights to the images. This highlights a key concept in copyright law: the creator must be a person, and the photographs essentially belong to the monkeys. Additionally, this case raises important discussions about the implications of technology and creativity. Though Slater helped bring attention to the black macaques and their conservation needs, which he values, it does not translate to ownership rights under the law. Counterarguments might suggest that Slater's creative setup warrants some recognition, but the law clearly delineates that without human authorship, the copyright cannot belong to him. Ultimately, this case serves as a reminder of how our legal systems operate in relation to art and creativity, especially in an age where animals and technology intersect.
David Slater's claim to copyright the monkey selfies taken in Indonesia is fundamentally flawed because, according to U.S. copyright law, only works created by humans can be copyrighted.
**Evidence:**
According to the article "Hey! That's My Picture!", Slater argued that he owned the copyright to the photos since he set up the camera and framed the shots. However, Wikipedia countered this claim, stating that the photos were in the public domain because a monkey, not a human, pressed the button to take the pictures. The article mentions that "the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) supported Wikipedia's claim," emphasizing that only human-created works are eligible for copyright protection. The USCO even listed a photo taken by a monkey as a specific example of something that cannot be copyrighted.
**Reasoning:**
This evidence shows that Slater's ownership claim is inconsistent with established copyright laws that specifically state only humans can hold copyrights. While Slater did play a role in the process by setting up the camera, the act of taking a photograph was performed by a monkey, which legally eliminates his rights to the images. This highlights a key concept in copyright law: the creator must be a person, and the photographs essentially belong to the monkeys. Additionally, this case raises important discussions about the implications of technology and creativity. Though Slater helped bring attention to the black macaques and their conservation needs, which he values, it does not translate to ownership rights under the law. Counterarguments might suggest that Slater's creative setup warrants some recognition, but the law clearly delineates that without human authorship, the copyright cannot belong to him. Ultimately, this case serves as a reminder of how our legal systems operate in relation to art and creativity, especially in an age where animals and technology intersect.