David Slater was a freelance photographer just trying to make a buck.

It was 2011, and Slater traveled to Indonesia on assignment. He took hundreds and thousands of photos when he decided to try something different: he’d have his subjects take their own photos instead.

So he taught these amateurs how to use his cameras, not knowing what to expect from their portraits, landscapes, candids and the unavoidable “selfies.”

Luckily for Slater, at least one student, later identified only by the first name of Naruto, was a quick learner. He would take a self-portrait/selfie that became an instant Internet sensation that would be published worldwide.

“Every photographer dreams of a photograph like this,” Slater later said of the image in an interview with The Guardian. “If everybody gave me a pound for every time they used ([the photograph), I’d probably have 40 million (pounds) in my pocket.”

Unfortunately for Slater, this dream photograph though has turned into a nightmare as Naruto filed a copyright lawsuit with the contention he took the photo and as such, retains reproduction rights accompanied by all the financial proceeds.

Now, copyright infringement cases can be tricky, especially when they cross international borders such as this one. Naruto lives in Indonesia, Slater in England, but the case was heard in America where websites wanting to use the photo are based.

However, the complexities of this case extend far beyond geography, focusing entirely on Naruto.

Why?

Because Naruto is … wait for it … A MONKEY!

That’s right. Naruto the macaque monkey has an attorney (actually a team of them) and he wants his day in court.

This legal dispute was actually initiated by Slater in 2014 against Wikipedia and other websites requiring them to stop using the photo without compensating him. Lawyers for Wikipedia were the first ones to suggest it was the monkey, who took the photo, that actually retained the copyright.

The U.S. Copyright office disagreed, stating animals can’t own copyrights because, well, they’re animals.

If common sense were to rule the day, the story would have ended there. Instead, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) entered the picture.

Equipped with a legal team always looking for a chance to run up fees and generate some publicity, PETA filed a lawsuit on behalf of Naruto in 2015. Again, a judge said forget it … monkeys (or any animal) can’t own a copyright.

Naturally, PETA appealed to the ninth circuit court of appeals, with the case going to trial in San Francisco earlier this summer.

During this now three-year legal fight, Slater has gone broke. Unlike PETA, he doesn’t have legions of supporters sending him cash to pay lawyers hundreds of thousands of dollars to debate the property rights of primates.

“I’m trying to become a tennis coach,” Slater said. “I’m even thinking about doing dog walking. I don’t make enough money to pay income tax.”

Tired, frustrated, and financially broken, Slater gave up before the appeals court returned another verdict. He settled with PETA, er, the monkey earlier this week. The terms: Slater gets 75 percent of future proceeds, while the monkey gets 25 percent.

“PETA and David Slater agree that this case raises important, cutting-edge issues about expanding legal rights for non-human animals, a goal that they both support, and they will continue their respective work to achieve this goal,” Slater and PETA said in a joint statement following the settlement.

If you are wondering how a monkey in Indonesia will spend his share of the proceeds, fear not. PETA, not surprisingly, will take care of that with lawyers promising future revenue will go to charities dedicated to protecting the monkeys.

What those charities will do with their proceeds is anyone’s guess. Rumor has it though lawyers associated with those groups have retained “Clyde” as a client who wants to renegotiate his royalty fees from “Every Which Way But Loose.”