Humans Of Bombay Vs People Of India: Ideas Can't Be Copyrighted, Says Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday helped conclude the legal battle between the Humans of Bombay and the People of India with respect to copyright infringement. The court has asked both platforms to refrain from using each other's photos, videos, literary work and creative expression.

The court said there cannot be a monopoly on running a storytelling platform. Ideas cannot be copyrighted, (but) the way they are expressed can be subject to law, it said.

In September, Humans of Bombay went to the high court to stop People of India, a storytelling platform, from using its content. Humans of Bombay claimed that People of India had "copied" its content, including one specific story, and made an identical platform.

Justice Prathiba Singh, who heard the matter, had issued a notice to the defendant, POI Social Media Pvt., in Humans of Bombay Stories Pvt.'s request for temporary relief in the previous hearing. 

The case led to a row on social media where users pointed out that Humans of Bombay itself was based on Humans of New York, which was started by Brandon Stantson in 2010.

In response, Stantson also came forward on his social media platforms and mentioned that the Humans of Bombay could not be suing people for what he had forgiven them for.

Brandon Stantson's X account.

The lawsuit claimed that the People of India had the same content as the Humans of Bombay, including a large number of shared images and videos on their social media. Humans of Bombay argued that People of India "copied" their entire business model, stories and more.

When closing the case, the court considered the People of India's argument that Humans of Bombay weren't unique and that other similar platforms exist. People of India also mentioned that these similar platforms imitate Humans of New York, which began in 2010, so Humans of Bombay shouldn't complain.

Justice Singh also said that Humans of Bombay didn't mind the people of India running their platform as long as they didn't copy their images.