Brandon Stanton, the founder of social media page 'Humans Of New York' on Monday issued another statement days after criticising 'Humans Of Bombay' for filing a copyright infringement suit against another page called 'People of India'.
Sharing the statement on his Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) handles, Stanton said that when art begins with a profit motive, it ceases to become art.
"For the last thirteen years I haven't received a penny for a single story told on Humans of New York, despite many millions offered. All my income has come from books of my work, speeches I have given, and Patreon. I cannot provide an informed opinion on the intricacies of copyright law, but I do have an opinion on what it means to be an artist," he said.
"Beautiful art can make money, there is nothing wrong with that. But when art begins with a profit motive, it ceases to become art. And it becomes a product," he further said taking an indirect dig at 'Humans Of Bombay'.
'Humans Of New York' vs 'Humans Of Bombay'
Was just asked for comment by The Washington Post regarding a certain court case involving my work, but which thankfully doesn't involve me. I thought it would be worthwhile to share the statement here. For an example of a true artist who has done beautiful things with the… pic.twitter.com/y6Xvz8EGSx
September 26, 2023Brandon Stanton said he welcomes anyone who is using the 'Humans of' concept to express something true and beautiful about their community.
"I do not identify with anyone who is using it for the sake of creating a certain lifestyle for themselves," he said.
The creator of 'Humans Of New York' said that he shared the statement because he was "just asked for comment" by the Washington Post regarding a certain court case involving his work but which "thankfully" does not involve him.
"I thought it would be worthwhile to share the statement here. For an example of a true artist who has done beautiful things with the 'Humans' of' concept, I encourage everyone to follow @humansofamsterdam," he said.
In an earlier post, Stanton had said, "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."
'Humans Of Bombay' a Mumbai-based storytelling platform, founded by Karishma Mehta responded to Stanton's criticism by saying that they are "grateful" to 'Humans Of New York' and Brandon for starting this storytelling movement.
We are grateful to HONY & Brandon for starting this storytelling movement.
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"The suit is related to the IP in our posts and 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," the platform said in a post on X.
The Delhi High Court took note of the matter and issued a notice to People of India on September 18.
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