‘When art begins with profit motive…’, Humans of New York founder’s latest dig | Trending

The ongoing ethical battle between Humans of New York and its ripoff entity Humans of Bombay has entered a new phase with Brandon Stanton taking a subtle dig at those ‘making profit 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 an ongoing ‘court case involving my work, but which thankfully doesn’t involve me.’ Clearly he was referring to the copyright infringement case filed Humans of Bombay against People of India. Brandon has in the past shown displeasure at Humans of Bombay making huge profits after using his brand. “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,” posted the American blogger. Today again he posted a long comment on how he doesn’t believe in profiteering from art and art seizes to exit if that happens. ‘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.’ He stated. The commenting on copyright infringment he went on to add, ‘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 art. 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 becomes a product’ Clearly Brandon respects his art and won’t take any step against those using his name but doesn’t want to be identified with profiteers, ‘I welcome 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.’Also Read: Humans of Bombay vs Humans of New York: Why HONY founder Brandon Stanton is angry with HOBNetizens have been quick to showcase their support for Brandon who has allowed several versions of his brand being created across the world. ‘Brandon’s continued principled refusal to turn HoNY into an “influencer” “brand” is admirable and wholesome and inspiring itself.’, wrote Gaurav Sabnis, Associate Professor ast Stevens Business. He even called out HOB founder Karishma for her hypocrisy, ‘Karishma, who came from money and has made a lot more money, could just show some humility, swallow Brandon’s scolding and move on. It’s not like he has any power in Indian courts..’ Meanwhile Humans of Bombay founder, Karishma Mehta, has thanked Brandon, ‘We are grateful to HONY & Brandon for starting this storytelling movement. 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.’It is interesting to note how Humans of Bombay is a heavily monetised website and earned over 6.78 crores of revenue last year’s and 3.2 crores in Profits. Reports on social media suggest they even charge ₹2-7 lakh per social media post. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Follow the latest breaking news and developments from India and around the world with Hindustan Times’ newsdesk. From politics and policies to the economy and the environment, from local issues to national events and global affairs, we’ve got you covered. …view detail