In a surprising turn of events, the popular Instagram page ‘Humans of Bombay,’ boasting over 2 million followers, has filed a lawsuit against ‘People of India,’ a similar storytelling platform, citing ‘Copyright Infringement’ as the core issue.
The lawsuit, which was initiated in the Delhi High Court, centers around a specific story, with ‘Humans of Bombay’ alleging that ‘People of India’ is essentially a mirrored platform, featuring content nearly identical to their own. The lawsuit has ignited a fiery controversy that has captured the attention of netizens and even drawn the founder of ‘Humans of New York,’ Brandon Stanton, into the fray.
Brandon Stanton, widely recognized as the pioneer of the online storytelling trend, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his views on the matter. He stated, “I’ve stayed quiet on the appropriation of my work because I think @HumansOfBombay shares important stories, even if they’ve monetized far past anything I’d feel comfortable doing on HONY. But you can’t be suing people for what I’ve forgiven you for.”
This Twitter exchange has sparked a heated debate online, with the majority of netizens siding with Stanton’s perspective. Many have criticized Karishma Mehta, the founder of ‘Humans of Bombay,’ for taking legal action against another storytelling page, calling it “narrow-minded.” They argue that ‘Humans of Bombay’ has become overly commercialized, causing the essence of the stories to be overshadowed by business interests.
‘Humans of Bombay’ defended their actions by emphasizing their rigorous research and outreach efforts to connect with individuals willing to share their stories. These narratives are then transformed into audio-visual content and distributed across various platforms associated with their channel.
In response to Stanton’s post on X, the ‘Humans of Bombay’ founder issued an open statement, characterizing Stanton’s comments as a “cryptic assault on our efforts to protect our intellectual property.” She revealed that her team had attempted to reach out to Stanton via email to discuss the matter amicably before resorting to legal action. In her statement, she wrote on X, “We are grateful to HONY & Brandon for starting this storytelling movement. The suit is related to the IP in our posts & not about storytelling at all. We tried to address the issue amicably before approaching the Court, as we believe in protecting our team’s hard work.”
As this lawsuit unfolds, it not only highlights the complexities of intellectual property in the age of social media but also raises questions about the evolution of online storytelling and its intersection with commercial interests.
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Image Source: India Today
