FACTS OF THE CASE:
In 2014, Karishma Mehta founded “Humans of Bombay” (HOB), an online storytelling platform focused on fostering connections. On the similar lines another online storytelling platform “People of India” (POI), was founded by Pritika Kumar and has been in operation since 2019 as an Instagram-based storytelling platform.
In September 2023, HOB filed a lawsuit against POI in the High Court of Delhi, alleging copyright infringement. HOB noticed similarities between their content and @officialpeopleofindia’s content, operated by POI. HOB claimed “SUBSTANTIAL IMITATION” (deliberate and significant copying, not accidental resemblance, constituting copyright infringement) and filed the lawsuit citing infringement of photos, videos, and creative expressions on social media, providing screenshots as evidence.
The Court directed the defendants to submit a written statement within 30 days, along with the issuance of a summons.
ARGUMENTS BY THE PLAINTIFF:
HOB argued that POI copied their content, constituting copyright infringement. They claimed ownership of the copyrighted content and pointed out substantial imitation of photos, videos, and narratives by POI.
ARGUMENTS BY THE DEFENDANT:
POI argued that content similarities could arise from common sources or subjects, denying direct copying. They refuted claims of copyright infringement, citing the competitive nature of the market. POI emphasized that similar storytelling could exist without copyright implications due to market competition.
ISSUES OF THE CASE:
Two kinds of issues were also raised, first was LEGAL ISSUES and second was ETHICAL ISSUES. The Legal Issues include
1. Copyright Infringement: The most important legal issue of the case is of Copyright Infringement. The plaintiff, Humans of Bombay (HOB) alleged that People of India (POI) used their copyrighted contents without their authorization.
2. Ownership of Copyright: There was also a question about the ownership of copyrighted content especially videos, photos, literary works and photographs.
The Ethical Issues include
1. Imitation: There was a question of imitation that there is a fine line between imitation and inspiration, were POI imitated HOB.
2. Respect for Intellectual Property: It is essential to respect one’s intellectual property and also a fundamental ethical principle. Certain rights are being provided to content creators for protecting their creative work and such principles are held by those platforms.
HELD:
On 11 October 2023, the High Court of Delhi ordered that storytelling platforms i.e. Humans of Bombay (HOB) and People of India (POI) cannot use each other’s copyrighted materials. The court also barred POI from using or plagiarising HOB’s literary work and creative expression. At the end, both parties agreed not to use or copy each other’s expressions and didn’t seek damages. The court also noted that individual private pictures or photographs sent to these platforms couldn’t claim copyright.
RATIO DECINDENDI:
The Bench of Justice Pratibha Singh made the observations by relying upon the Apex Court decisions in Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak (2007) and R.G. Anand v. M/s. Delux Films (1978):
According to Section 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957, copyright infringement occurs when any person, without a licence granted by the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights does something that only the owner has the exclusive right to do. However, the expression of any idea can’t be imitated or copied and if it violates, then that would constitute under Section 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957. Also, the platform of storytelling can’t be the monopoly in the market because all such platforms share the similar stories with their creative and narrative mind. Such expression is also protected under the Copyright Act. Platforms can’t claim exclusive rights to photographs which has not been generated by them, rather the same has been obtained from different source, but copyright lies with the platform that produces a specific photograph.
HUMANS OF NEW YORK’s (HoNY) TAKE ON THE CASE
In September 2023, the founder of the Humans of New York (HoNY), Brandon Stanton criticised HOB for filing a lawsuit against other storytelling platform by accusing them of copying his own initiative. Brandon tweeted, “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”
