A San Francisco court found in favour of David Slater, 50, from Monmouthshire, after animal rights activists argued all proceeds from a photo taken in 2011 should go to the monkey.

However, the court ruled animals are not entitled to copyright protection.

The case was brought by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which claimed that the monkey, Naruto, a crested macaque from Indonesia was the author and owner of the selfie after it took the photo with equipment left by the photographer.

Mr Slater argued that Naruto was not the subject of the photo but that it was another monkey called Ella.

He added he was relieved the “long saga” had come to an end and said: “They are more about money and publicity than animals. They have wasted people’s donations on pursuing this case.”

“At least it’s got people thinking about the monkey, its situation, animal rights and how intelligent these animals are.”

A PETA spokeswoman said that even thought it lost, the case was “a vital step toward fundamental rights for non-human animals for their own sake”.