A federal judge in San Francisco dismissed a lawsuit filed by PETA on behalf of an Indonesian macaque monkey against a wildlife photographer who used the monkey's selfie picture for profit.

In the suit, PETA argued that a rare crested macaque was the legal copyright owner of a selfie that it took using British photographer David Slater's unattended camera in 2011. PETA also claimed that the monkey was entitled to receive damages for copyright infringement, since Slater used the picture of the macaque, identified as "Naruto," in a wildlife book.

The famous monkey selfie has since been widely distributed by outlets like Wikipedia, which argues that no one owns the copyright to the image because it was not taken by a human being.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William Orrick ruled that the Copyright Act did not protect the endangered monkey in this case.

"While Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act," Orrick stated in a tentative opinion, according to The Guardian. The judge is expected to issue a written order of dismissal at a later time.

Following the ruling, PETA issued a statement calling the decision "disappointing." PETA lawyers also promised to file an amended complaint, reports CBS News.

"We will continue to fight for Naruto and his fellow macaques, who are in grave danger of being killed for bush meat or for foraging for food in a nearby village while their habitat disappears because of human encroachment," general counsel to PETA Jeff Kerr said. "This case is a vital step toward fundamental rights for nonhuman animals for their own sake, not in relation to how they can be exploited by humans."

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