 "Social Media Wars: Why Humans of Bombay have sued rival People of India")
India is in the midst of a faceoff with Canada. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are battling it out over sharing the water from the river Cauvery. However, it’s the standoff between two social media pages that has got the attention of the internet. What are we talking about? The internet is right now all abuzz after popular social media account Humans Of Bombay, founded by Karishma Mehta, has filed a copyright infringement case against People Of India (POI), a similar social media account that recounts moving stories of common citizens. And the matter has now even drawn in the founder of popular blog Humans of New York, the inspiration behind the Humans of Bombay page. What’s the row all about? Why did Humans Of Bombay sue People Of India? Where does Humans of New York fit into the debate and what does the internet have to say? The row between Humans of Bombay and People of India To understand, the row between the two social media accounts, one needs a little background. Humans of Bombay was started in 2014 as a Facebook page. Drawing inspiration from the New York version – called Humans of New York – it began as a medium to share heartwarming tales of Mumbaikars. Humans of Bombay was the brainchild of 21-year-old entrepreneur Karishma Mehta and at the beginning, she had said that the page would capture the essence of the city through personal anecdotes, struggles, and triumphs. In the years gone by, her page, Humans of Bombay, has seen a meteoric rise, embracing an ever-widening circle of people, including merchants, celebrities, and individuals from all walks of life. It was hailed as a platform that celebrated the diversity of Mumbai’s undying spirit. [caption id=“attachment_13167282” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Humans of Bombay was started by Karishma Mehta, then 21, in 2014. It was meant to chronicle the lives of Mumbaikars in a different and unique manner. Image Courtesy: @Karishma_Mehta5/Twitter[/caption] The page, now available on all social media platforms, has generated a mass following; at last count, the Humans of Bombay page on X had 14,900 followers, 2.7 million on Instagram and 1.4 million followers on Facebook. The row erupted when Humans of Bombay sued People of India — a similar storytelling platform – for copyright infringement. In its lawsuit filed in the Delhi High Court, Humans of Bombay alleges that People of India copied its content, including its logo, tagline, and the format it primarily uses for its stories. According to Business Today, Humans of Bombay is seeking damages as well as an injunction to prevent People of India from using its content. The Delhi High Court on 18 September issued a notice to People of India expressing concern over allegations of significant imitation. Humans of New York weigh in However, the lawsuit hasn’t sat well with Brandon Stanton, the founder of Humans of New York page. Taking to social media platform X, Stanton on 23 September wrote: “I’ve stayed quiet on the appropriation of my work because I think @HumansOfBombay shares important stories, even if they’ve monetised far past anything I’d feel comfortable doing on HONY. But you can’t be suing people for what I’ve forgiven you for.”
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. https://t.co/0jZM05YyTt
— Brandon Stanton (@humansofny) September 23, 2023
For the unaware, Stanton began the Humans of New York blog in 2010. He photographed and shares stories in an unique manner, gradually becoming an internet sensation. [caption id=“attachment_13167322” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Founder of Humans of New York, Brandon Stanton has hit out at Humans of Bombay for the lawsuit they have filed against People of India. Image Courtesy: @humansofny/Twitter[/caption] People quickly chimed in on Stanton’s post, calling out Mehta and the Humans of Bombay page for being hypocritical. Some even trolled Humans of Bombay for covert marketing and staging stories. One X user wrote: “@Karishma_Mehta5, this is not done. You must drop the lawsuit. If you’ve taken inspiration from Humans Of New York and they have been kind, you must afford the same liberty to others.” Another chiming in, called the lawsuit “ridiculous” and said it cast the page as “small minded”. Others since then have called out Mehta for her hypocrisy and even dug out an old video in which she claims that she got the idea of starting HOB “completely randomly and out of the blue”.
Humans of Bombay founder Karishma Mehta said that she got the idea of HOB "Completely randomly and out of the blue".
— Rahul Bhardwaj (@_rahulism_) September 24, 2023
It's like Abibas/Poma saying that they got the idea completely random and then sued Adidas/Puma. 😂#HumansofBombay pic.twitter.com/sLouYliBVn
Humans of Bombay speaks up As Stanton’s post garnered more attention, the Humans of Bombay page chose to react. In an open letter to Stanton, it wrote that they were grateful to Brandon for his storytelling and they were “protecting their team’s hard work”.
We are grateful to HONY & Brandon for starting this storytelling movement.
— Humans Of Bombay (@HumansOfBombay) September 24, 2023
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.
PFA
It also clarified that the matter was related to intellectual property and not to storytelling. In a second post, they wrote, “It’s therefore shocking that a cryptic assault on our efforts to project our intellectual property is made in this manner, especially without understanding the background of the case.”
— Humans Of Bombay (@HumansOfBombay) September 23, 2023
Impact Shorts
More ShortsNow while this battle rages on social media, it’s interesting to note that People of India has chosen to stay mum on the matter. However, more will be revealed as Delhi High Court has now scheduled the next hearing regarding the allegations on 11 October. With inputs from agencies
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