‘Humans Of Bombay’ sues ‘People Of India’ for copyright infringement, and ‘Humans Of New York’ teaches them

A storytelling website called Humans of Bombay has now filed a case in the Delhi High Court alleging copyright infringement against People of India (POI), a similar online platform that shares tales of Indians.

In response to the appeal, the Delhi High Court then issued a summons to the People of India. The next hearing has been set on October 11 by the court. According to the complaint, People of India (POI) used videos from Humans of Bombay’s YouTube channel and Instagram account without getting permission, which was a copyright violation.

It allegedly said that People of India had also stolen HOB’s distinctive narrative structure without permission. In 2014, the organization’s creator Karishma Mehta created the Facebook page known as Humans of Bombay.

After then, the creator of Humans of New York (HONY), Brandon Stanton, voiced his view on the subject on X, previously known as Twitter.

Brandon claimed in his tweet that Humans of Bombay (HOB) took inspiration from HONY without running afoul of the law. He also questioned the legal actions taken by other sites.

“I haven’t spoken out about the misuse of my work because I believe @HumansOfBombay tells vital stories, even though they have made much more money than I would feel comfortable making on HONY. However, you cannot sue individuals for the offenses I have already pardoned you for, he wrote on X.

Global media coverage of Brandon’s tweet attracted a range of responses from online users.

However, Humans of Bombay (HOB) published two posts on X in reaction to Brandon’s tweet. ‘Hello Brandon,’ We appreciate the value of narrative and love to share stories, much like the thousands of Humans of chapters throughout the globe. Therefore, it is disturbing that a cryptic attack on our attempts to safeguard our intellectual property is launched in this way, particularly without knowledge of the case’s history, HOB wrote.

“Perhaps, before acting hastily on this topic, you need to familiarize yourself with the details of the case and the goals of HOB. HOB firmly believes in the value of narrative. But it ought to be carried out honorably and morally. We have emailed you asking to speak with you in order to offer further information. We have faith in the integrity of the Indian judiciary and will ask for your understanding while the law proceeds in its due course. Best, Bombay Humans. the addition of the storytelling platform.

Humans of Bombay published photographs of a court case in another tweet while making it clear that the case is unrelated to the tale.

“HoNY & Brandon started the storytelling movement, and we are thankful for that. Not at all about narrative, the lawsuit is about the intellectual property in our postings. In order to safeguard the hard work of our staff, we made an effort to resolve the matter peacefully before going to court. PFA.”