The ongoing ethical battle between Humans of New York and its rip-off entity Humans of Bombay entered a new phase with Brandon Stanton subtly taking on those who ‘make money off of art’.
Humans of New York founder Brandon Stanton and Humans of Bombay founder Karishma Mehta
In a recent social media post, Humans of New York founder Brandon Stanton commented on the ongoing “court case involving my work, but thankfully not involving me.” Clearly he was referring to the copyright infringement suit brought by the Humans of Bombay against the People of India.
Brandon has shown his displeasure in the past that Humans of Bombay is making a lot of money from using his brand. “I’ve kept quiet about the appropriation of my work because I think @HumansOfBombay is sharing important stories, even if they cashed in far more than anything I’d be happy to do at HONY. But you can’t sue people for what I Forgave you,” she posted. is an American blogger.
Today he again posted a long comment about how he doesn’t believe in profiteering from art and how art wants to get out if that happens.
‘For the last thirteen years I have not received a penny for any story told on Humans of New York, despite the many millions offered. All my income comes from books of my work, talks I’ve given and Patreon.’ He declared.
Commenting on copyright infringement, he added: ‘I can’t give an informed opinion on the intricacies of copyright law, but I do have an opinion on what it means to be an artist. Fine art can make money, there’s nothing wrong with that. But when art begins with a profit motive, it ceases to be art. And it becomes a product’
It’s clear that Brandon respects his art and won’t take action against those who use his name, but he doesn’t want to be identified with profiteers, ‘I applaud anyone who uses the concept of ‘Humans of’ to express something true and beautiful about their community. I don’t identify with anyone who uses it to create a certain lifestyle for themselves.’
Also read: Humans of Bombay vs. Humans of New York: Why HONY founder Brandon Stanton is mad at HOB
Netizens were quick to show their support for Brandon, who allowed several versions of his brand to be created around the world. “Brandon’s continued principled refusal to turn HoNY into an ‘influencer’ ‘brand’ is in itself admirable, useful and inspiring,” wrote Gaurav Sabnis, associate professor of Stevens Business. He even called out HOB founder Karishma for her hypocrisy, ‘Karishma, who came from money and made a lot more money, could have just shown some humility, swallowed Brandon’s rebuke and moved on. Not that it has any power in Indian courts..’
Meanwhile, Humans of Bombay founder Karishma Mehta thanked Brandon, ‘We are grateful to HONY & Brandon for starting this storytelling movement. The lawsuit is about the IP in our posts, not the storytelling at all. We tried to resolve the issue amicably before going to Court, as we believe we are protecting the hard work of our team.’
It is interesting to note that Humans of Bombay is a highly monetized website and earned more than 6.78 crores in revenue last year and 3.2 crores in profit. Reports on social media suggest that they even charge INR 2-7 lakh per social media post.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn