Russia Licensing Statement

English-Speaking Users, for context please read the following announcement post first: Announcement regarding ongoing license violation.

The Following is a Statement From The Russian Language Branch OF The SCP Foundation Wiki

Introduction:

This post should have looked differently and cover more topics, but some recent posts in social media have forced our hand. Dear members and readers, please take your time to examine this information.

Backstory:

As you all may know, the administration of our site (the Russian SCP branch) has been working together with Andrey Duksin on his ARTSCP project – an artbook based on SCP Foundation materials. We mostly provided advice and publicity for the project; some enthusiasts also assisted with the making of exhibition displays for various festivals. During all of that time (or rather, since the first days of the site's existence) SCP Foundation creative works were distributed according to the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported open license (hereafter referred to as CC BY-SA 3.0). This license allows everyone to use these works as they see fit, as long as the terms of license are adhered to and remain unchanged. Terms of license, despite some legal uncertainties SCP-RU had at the time, were made clear to Andrey on June 14, 2015, in response to his in-depth inquiry regarding the possibilities of starting the ARTSCP project.

The final concept of the project was eventually formed by June 26, 2015, when Andrey asked the senior staff of our site to publish an information statement in the social media groups we control.

There will be no in-depth description of all stages ARTSCP development went through, as this is hardly relevant. Although we'd like to say that we were enthusiastic about Andrey's initiatives at first, and were watching his project's achievements with genuine interest. Unfortunately, this changed in the latter years.

During all the time of our cooperation Andrey Duksin kept stating that he aims to cooperate with the senior staff, that our opinion – the opinion of people who contributed a lot to the development of the SCP Foundation – matters to him, and expressed his readiness to take our positions regarding the specifics of his ARTSCP project's development into account.

In summer 2017 Andrey shared the news that some major film-making company contacted him and offered to release a series based on the SCP Foundation. Andrey in turn offered the senior staff to participate in forming a uniform canon for the Foundation as told by the series, and have the canon become the basis of a script offered to the filmmakers. Motivation for the site members that were to work on the canon-building was discussed separately. Andrey openly stated that he intends to be the sole point of contact between us and the filmmakers so that there would be no "possibility of fraud" on our part – while leaving such a possibility for himself. He intended to keep half of the monetary reward, and give the other half to those who would be doing the actual work – distributing actual sums between actual people was up to us.

The main question was not even that. It was the licensing matters. We'd like to remind that we were seeking a final solution for the licensing of our content, and had a disagreement about these matters with the English SCP wiki. The outcome is detailed here.

Still, we got no answer to the question about how the filmmakers would react to their proposed series being distributed for free on a legal basis. We thought the filmmakers would ask Andrey this question and will eventually scrap the idea, as making profits on this project would be unfeasible due to the fact that free and legal distribution of the series would have been possible. We put this matter to rest and didn't return to it until late 2018.

In September 2018, representatives of a shop called Geekfunco contacted us. Their community dedicated to selling SCP Foundation branded merchandise was blocked as per the request of an unknown "trademark holder". We promised to investigate the matter; as part of our advice we informed them about the actual license terms, and our FAQ had the current information conforming to state legislation.

We jokingly assumed that Andrey had somehow copyrighted the Foundation and uses it to harass the competition.

Andrey himself did contact us as well, stating that several customers of the aforementioned shop did not allegedly receive their purchases. He stated that he would like to cooperate with the "aggrieved persons" in order to file a police report for fraud. We showed him a copy of an invoice we received from Geekfunco representatives and pointed out that the group was weirdly "blocked by copyright holder request". Andrey's reply was an unpleasant surprise, to say the least.

+ Show transcription - Hide transcription Andrey: Hello! There was a recent post in this one group about one small-time public where someone was about to craft/sell some minor SCP-based merch – t-shirts, mugs, the like. The link to this group is now blocked: [https://vk.com/club170656132/

As it is, the post linking to this little group from scpfanpage is also gone.

As far as I can see, 20+ people sent their money, at least 30000 rubles ($500) as preliminary payment for their merch boxes. Now these orders are hanging in limbo: no one knows whether these items will be actually manufactured and will the customers ever get something for their money.

Do you think posting something in the fan group, requesting the merch manufacturer to make themselves known may be worth a shot? Afterwards I'll cooperate with the aggrieved persons and submit a collective police report so that the creator of the fraudulent community ([https://vk.com/fearphantom]) may be charged with fraud?

Dmitry: Hello. We did talk to their representative, asked for some documents to confirm these orders were actually made. They sent us an invoice for the merch's manufacturing. The manufacturing company does exist, we've checked their details. Everything seemed fine, the only thing was that we planned to post the order info in October, but the group admin barged in and posted it too early.

One might ask the representative to find out why the group was blocked. If something is indeed wrong, a collective claim may be the right thing to do.

Andrey: Can you send be that invoice and some correspondence from those guys who planned to manufacture it, as confirmation? I'd like to familiarize myself with the situation.

Dmitry: Here's the initial exchange: (copied posts and an invoice)

Andrey: Oh, that's great. We'll now get into it.

Dmitry: If the invoice came on August 26, the goods may be still being manufactured. They usually give you 5 to 7 days to pay, after all.

Our casual assumption that Andrey has become a copyright holder was 100% right. As it turned out, in summer 2017 Andrey Duksin submitted a request to Rospatent (Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property) to register SCP Foundation as a trademark valid in Eurasian Customs Union countries (at the moment of writing – Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan). Registering a trademark is a lengthy process, the paperwork took a whole year. Visit this link for confirmation.

Despite Andrey's statements that words and decisions of the senior staff matter to him, he only divulged the information regarding the trademark registration when he needed our support to exert pressure in his competition. The screenshots of his communications on that matter can be seen below.

+ Show transcription - Hide transcription Andrey: As for the "trademark holder request" – I'll explain that now.

Given that I'm putting a lot of money into promoting the universe and creating media content (arts, books, tabletop games, etc), I had to make sure no one shifty enough jumps in and profits on the PR I'm making. 'Cause in that case I'm losing the resource to get my own investments back.

So I spent 100,000 more rubles (approx. $1400) and registered a trademark valid in Russia and the Eurasian Customs Union. Here's the registry link: (LINK)

This doesn't matter for the community at all, because I've always supported the community's decisions – the words and actions that you, Gene R, iavev, Blackbird5154, Mertanum and the rest make.

But it'll be a problem for all them randos.

I contacted those guys and offered to coordinate our actions. They told me to fuck off. In turn, I contacted vk.com admins and kicked that group outta vk.

Next thing those guys started threatening me. Now, knowing where they placed their request, I'll find out the customers and will file a report to the procuracy.

Those guys seem to be real frauds. For real, the customers should be sought and a collective police report should be filed.

Andrey has made it clear that he has put "a lot of money into promoting the universe" and doesn't want to lose the opportunity to get his investments back. That's why he registered the trademark: to fight the competition and to stop them from making profits without his permission and his share. This totally disagrees with his musings on "symbiosis" between the SCP Foundation and ARTSCP in the article he recently posted – symbiosis presumes a complete and mutual openness between the two partners, and we, like it was said earlier, only found out about the trademark after the fact.

As for the presumed fraud Andrey contacted us about, we did not receive any factual proof of fraud, nor any complaints about the Geekfunco shop. We believe it was merely an ostensible reason to ensure our support in the conflict between him and Geekfunco.

To get a more complete picture, take a look at the classes of International Classification of Goods and Services that apply to the trademark he registered:

(translator's note: the definitions Rospatent uses seem to be different from those listed on Wikipedia in the article for the Nice Convention. Translating to the best of my knowledge wherever applicable).

+ Show applicable International Classification of Goods and Services classes - Hide classes 09 — decorative magnets, computer software, computer games, downloadable electronic releases.

16 — mechanical pens, albums, placards, posters, notebooks (stationery), booklets, magazines, bookmarks, printed media, graphic images, calendars, pencils, books, comic books, envelopes (stationery), desktop pads, school stationery, papier-mache figurines and statuettes, paper flags.

28 — indoor games, tabletop games.

35 — computer services for online retail shops, marketing, presenting goods in all forms of media for retail sale, promoting sales for third persons, advertisements, online interactive advertisements, retail shop services.

41 — book publishing, information on rest and recreation, information on entertainment, film studios, micrography, video editing, providing interactive non-downloadable electronic releases, providing online non-downloadable video files, providing online non-downloadable music files, providing non-downloadable films through "video on demand" services, filmmaking with the exception of advertisements, entertainment.

As can be seen from these classes, the stated reason for trademarking is not the only one. Class 41, related to filmmaking and video production, hints at Andrey's intent to circumvent the license restriction and make the series more likely to be produced (and hence, the money for his agency work to be paid). This is further confirmed by the time the trademark request was submitted – July 2017, when the series was actively discussed and the script was drafted. We'd like to remind you that Andrey told us nothing about that at the time.

As of today, Andrey openly states that he registered the trademark to make big budget films and video games based on the SCP Foundation feasible, as well as to ensure the cooperation of EKSMO publishing house. The latter part looks rather strange, as in February 2019 Andrey stated that ARTSCP became a publishing house (link to original post). We haven't found any confirmation that ARTSCP had indeed attained the status of a publishing house.

Class 9 was also concerning to us, given the "downloadable electronic releases" listed within. We saw it as a potential hostile takeover attempt. It should be understood that, despite Andrey's claims, a trademark is not simply a formal piece of paper, this is a document with legal force that, in its current state, constitutes a risk of restriction of the site's readers and members capability of using the open license. Even today his words that the trademark is not detrimental to the site in any way are only valid until and unless any business operations are conducted on the site.

The main consequence of the trademark being registered was the harassment of competitors who tried to make money on selling SCP-branded merchandise. According to the logs we have received from the afflicted persons, we can see that Andrey engaged in extortion and blackmail, demanding a percentage of their revenues, threatening to sue them if they do not comply. To all their objections that their business is conducted in strict compliance of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (hereafter referred to as CC-BY-SA 3.0), Andrey retorted that the license matters nothing in our country and "you'll be telling about that license to your cellmates in the detention center". We cannot consider this to be something else than a crime. All of this is shown on the screenshots attached. The screenshots are published with the users' personal permissions.

+ Fear Phantom correspondence - Hide correspondence Andrey: Good day! Might you be the creator of this https://vk.com/club170656132 community?

Fear: Yes, that's me.

A: You're using a trademark illegally. Please remove the trademarked goods from the market (photo of the trademark document)

(link to a legal support site citing possible legal consequences for using a trademark without permission)

F: We'll discuss it later this day, OK?

A: OK.

A: (on the next day) Well, good sir. You've lost your chance for a peaceful resolution. In 24 hours your group will be closed and I'll file a procuracy claim.

A: Group is removed. Await for your court summons.

F: Please address all your questions and claims to ur.xednay|itrairom.oloap#ur.xednay|itrairom.oloap

I'm no longer working with this.

A: That's not my problem. I'm not going to contact anyone. The group was created using your account so you'll be the one held responsible.

A: You took the payment for 20 requests. That's at least 30 000 rubles. Up to 2 years incarceration (link to legal document)

F: Stupid of you to do that. I'm just a manager, I don't call the shots.

(copies of messages)

Address them directly, you're playing chinese whispers here.

A: I don't care.

It's just the situation is perfectly by-the-book: someone devised an illegal scheme and the manager will be the one to do the time)

F: I created the group, I speak to people and I'm in charge of the ads. And I don't take payments.

A: That's up to investigators, I don't have time for this shit.

Or rather, give me the phone and the full name of your supervisor. I'll attach the info as well so that they will deal with him too.

'Cause now the police only have one point of contact – you.

F: My employer has contacted you via email, you failed to reply. I don't have the right to share other people's personal info.

A: I thought as much. Expect a court summons.

F: Mailed to Bumfuck Egypt?

What you're doing is extortion. Or a rip-off, to say the least.

You've shown a piece of paper that might as well be doctored in a photo editor, and engage in blackmail solely on that.

A: Here's a link to this piece of paper in a registry of official pieces of paper:

(link to trademark)

This is not called rip-off. This is called business.

VK is all too eager to divulge phone numbers attached to user pages, to the law enforcement. As well as the IP addresses. I doubt you're using a VPN all the time.

Phone number and an IP address are more than enough to find the source.

F: CC-BY-SA-3.0 is the official copyright owner license. And that's that.

A: We're living in Russia, rules are a bit different here. So you'll be telling tales about Creative Commons to your cellmates in the detention centre. Fun guys they are.

I'm growing weary of this exchange, channel's closed.

That's from the mail: (attachment) Fear, to Dmitry: Recently I had a conflict with Andrey Duksin regarding the SCP Foundation branded merchandise sold in my group. I've contacted the official copyright holders on the English wiki to find out whether I can use their brand on my goods. They told me it's OK and the license permits that. Recently Duksin sent me a scan and claimed that all rights to use SCP in Russia belong to him. He asked me to either take these goods down, or pay him 500 rubles for every kit made, 100 pieces in front (50 000 rubles). We told him a kit takes 1100 rubles to manufacture and we only have 400 rubles of revenue (we also offered him 100 rubles per kit so as not to provoke a conflict, although we understand that he has no actual right to demand money from us). He complained about our group and they took it down. He's now threatening with court, prison, investigation, confiscation of goods etc. All of the correspondence is available. I'm addressing you because the English wiki administrator asked you to resolve this matter. He said he'll help in case there will be problems.

I'm waiting for your response.

Dmitry: Yes, I'm aware of your situation. We're working on it together with the English wiki. For now I have several requests for you.

+ Moriarti correspondence - Hide correspondence Moriarti:

Hello Andrey.

We'd like to release a small amount of SCP-based merchandise.

Namely, fandom boxes with merch.

What are the legal conditions for us to do that? Andrey:

Good day!

I believe the best way to do that would be making a contract in which I approve of manufacturing and selling a limited amount of merchandise for a reward. The optimal reward would be 500 rubles for every fandom box intended to be sold.

i.e. if 100 fandom boxes are to be made and sold, the contract would amount to 50 000 rubles.

I'd like to notice that signing the contract and going through with the payment is to be done first, producing the merchandise and taking preliminary payments comes after.

Should we reach an agreement, I'm ready to provide some information support on ARTSCP resources, as well as in the SCP reader app with 100 000+ users: (link to app)

This should help sell the whole batch in a couple of weeks.

Should the contract be commercially successful, we may prolong it if the parties so agree.

Do you agree to the contract? Moriarti:

The contract is fine but 500 rubles is too much!

The box itself costs 1500 rubles, it's not likely to be bought at a steeper price.

The merch costs 900 rubles to make.

We can only offer 100 rubles per box. Andrey:

The box goes for 2000 rubles in your vk.com group. Manufacturing costs are, say, 1000 rubles. The profits are to be divided equally, 50/50, so the royalty would be 500 rubles per fandom box.

If you're in some dire straits and need a handicap to get the project started – I can cooperate and make the first contract for 400 rubles per fandom box. After the first batch is sold and you'll realize the idea is bringing in profits, we can sign another contract with a 500 rubles per box royalty fee.

Should you find this offer unacceptable, you'll have to excuse me – it's not working out, you cannot sell the merchandise. If you violate the proscription, court hearings, confiscation of goods and penalty fees will follow.

Something to brighten your day: many have signed the requested contracts and they're doing fine - it's bringing in profits, cooperation is beneficial for everyone. Take Studio 101 for example, they officially declared we'll be collaborating on a project: https://vk.com/studio101?w=wall-24211154_9209 Moriarti:

The group was blocked, fine. This correspondence will be shown to the admins. Moriarti:

Duksin, you were told to write here!

We started discussing your inadequate appetites with the SCP Foundation copyright holders. As well as whether you have the right to claim this at all.

Your trademark registration proves nothing.

No one forges your books.

If you ever contact that person in VK again, you'll be punished.

Send all the SCP Foundation legal documents, we'll study them. Andrey:

So how, pray tell, will you punish me?

Of the whole Russian community only the words of Gene R and Osobist matter to me. Maybe iavev and Blackbird5154. These are the people whose opinion I'm ready to consider.

I don't think you're one of them.

I won't be sending any documents – too much of an honor for you. Everything else will be clarified and settled in court.

Please state your full name, phone number and registration address. Otherwise that boy with a pony on his userpic will receive the summons. VK is eager to share user data with the police these days.

I didn't waste 5 years of my life and more than a million rubles just to reanimate a universe in decline. And I will destroy everyone who stands in my way. Yourself included. Andrey:

You are the one who will be contacted soon. By people with special training.

+ Nikita Kulik correspondence - Hide correspondence Kulik:

Greetings. This morning we received a complaint for a lottery drawing in the "EXTRADIMENSIONAL RUSSIAN SCP FOUNDATION FANDOM" group, with fandom boxes being the prize. As far as I know, SCP is distributed based on CC-BY-SA 3.0 license which allows the logo to be used for commercial purposes, given that the licensing info and the logo source are explicitly stated. How could one register a logo that is used by a single license across the world, and how can one make such claims?

(screenshot of license) Andrey:

Good day! I needed to secure myself from the competition. It cost me a lot and it's all legal.

Anyone can still promote and develop the Foundation, as well as sell Foundation-branded goods for profit. But now it must have my approval.

I already told that to this chap (Fear Phantom). He didn't settle down and persisted. So now we have 2 cases of patent law being violated, and I'm really composing a claim to the procuracy and VK administration in order for Phantom's personal data to be transferred to the law enforcement for a court trial. Kulik:

Foreign guys that make tabletop games and the like, probably with the intent to sell, also have to approve it with you? You could not have registered a trademark already copyrighted in the whole world. You couldn't have just up and taken other people's ideas, go to some shop, get it written to your name, and demand everyone to get your approval. SCP is by definition a colelctive creation and its logo can be used for commercial purposes by anyone.

That's a very dirty act, to appropriate the logo and act this way towards others.

After all, if someone lives in Russia and makes the merch, it does not mean he's using "your" trademark per se. Fandom boxes are listed under the Creative Commons license valid throughout the world. I, for one, live in Belarus – so what, I might as well go somewhere and have the SCP Foundation trademarked to my name? Andrey:

Nikita, what do you want from me? You're a clever guy, you helped us a lot with this project. Do you presume I'll hinder someone out of spite?

Many have contacted me, we had a nice discussion and engaged in symbiotic relationship. That was the case with Studio 101 who are making a Foundation-based tabletop RPG. I love and fully support that kind of people.

Then there are people who don't want a productive cooperation, and intend to wipe their feet on me. I really don't like this. Such people I destroy. Phantom will suffer that fate, it's inevitable.

You can reach an agreement with me and craft those fan boxes – I won't mind and will support this initiative. Kulik:

Here's a question – why would I need your agreement? Did you make an agreement with each and every site admin when making your artbooks? Who needs that? Andrey:

I personally discussed it with every author.

And I know every admin of all Foundation branches.

I've even spoken to Izumi Kato, the one who crafted the sculpture.

To top that off, I even went to have a drink with all the Russian site admins) Kulik:

That's neat, but that's purely your initiative, the license did not require you to do all of that.

Still, you did not address the license. Is it stated wrong here?

(license screenshot) Andrey:

Alas, it won't work in Russia and CIS. In countries like these patent law has precedence.

So there are only 3 options:

1) be a friend of mine and all will be well

2) not sell any fanboxes or other Foundation-related stuff

3) try and break the rules, and be kicked outta VK. If you're not lucky, you'll get to know the law enforcement as well.

What would you prefer? Kulik: What does the friendship imply, I wonder?

As can be seen on these screenshots, Andrey blatantly extorts money from his competition – namely, a pertentage of their revenues, and openly states that Creative Commons license does not matter in our country, dressing the situation as if his competitor is a hard bitten criminal. The correspondence does not have a single link to any law or normative legal act to support his statements. One thing is clear: even if Andrey's claims had any legal basis, the situation could have been solved from a different ethical and moral standpoint. Although, there are no legal, moral or ethical reasons to comply to his claims.

At the moment of this article's publication there is a scandal actively developing in social media, related to a series of YouTube videos recently posted, first and foremost being this video released by the "SCP Protocols" channel, discussing the trademark registered by Andrey Duksin in a critical tone. Andrey's response was to post an article in which he explains why he registered the trademark and how his actions influenced the site, the universe and the community as a whole. He also accused the authors of the video of working on a paid order from Geekfunco to destroy Andrey's reputation. Most of his are either discussed above or further in this article, but a couple of points merit some attention here and now.

First off, Andrey does not provide any proof of any corrupt practices on the video makers' part. He does include a screenshot of a vk.com tech support request, listing several users that are, per Andrey's claim, cyber-bullying him. The screenshot also shows an attachment (presumably a screenshot from a vk.com page as well, but there are no discernable details). As of the grounds on which these accusations are made, Andrey states that the authors of those videos used to promote Geekfunco merch and that's what makes them hit pieces. In our opinion that does not prove their "paid" nature in any way, and such reaction on his part only makes us further doubt where Andrey really stands.

Another thing we'd like to address is the criticism of Geekfunco's goods. To quote the article:

What if one would just slap the SCP logo on anything they see fit, put these things into boxes, and sell them?

Nothing at all would happen – branded merchandise is nothing new and it's hard to find a reasonably popular fictional product that doesn't have its own merchandise. If the terms of license are adhered to, selling such merchandise is legal, and its quality will be assessed by the customers who will vote with their wallets. Speaking of parasitism in this case is completely inappropriate, and, given the personal attacks in the article, as well as the logs and screenshots listed earlier in this article, it only predisposes one negatively towards Andrey, destroying the image of a respectable businessman caring about the Foundation that he pursues to have.

The stance of the Russian SCP Foundation branch

According to the terms of CC-BY-SA 3.0 license that our works are released under, publishing derivative works under a different license is impossible, as well as altering the existing license. Trademarking the SCP Foundation is nothing other than an attempt to change SCP Foundation content licensing rules.

Therefore, the registration of trademark #661748 to A.V Duksin's name contradicts the license in terms of distribution, is a gross violation of said license, and any actions taken towards brand protection of said trademark are manifestly illegal and illicit. Our following actions are based on our determination to maintain proper license usage and deter the dishonest use of collective SCP Foundation legacy.

Not willing to leave the situation as it is, we addressed the English wiki, other wikis, and different authorities for help in that matter. Currently all of them are providing substantial legal and information support. We also took various protective measures to hinder Andrey in his use of said trademark for unlawful purposes.

It should be noted that not only did the English wiki support our claims towards Andrey Duksin, but provided documentary support for it.

To summarize:

Our stance in these matters is a matter of principle and will not change.

SCP Foundation is a unique collective writing project. The fact that anyone can develop it and benefit from it, given their adherence to the license, gives it an immense advantage over other similar projects.

The SCP Foundation license ensures that anyone can make money on our creative works. This is perfectly legal. In terms of our content, copyright can only be violated through violating the license.

The registration of trademark #661748 on 05.07.2018 directly and gravely violates the clauses of said license. Registering the trademark to hinder the competition only aggravates it further and violates Russian and international law. We will consistently and in a lawful manner pursue the rescindment of this trademark, and will invoke any resources and authorities we deem necessary.

We believe that harassment of competition and sympathetic persons is completely unacceptable and inadmissible. We strongly condemn Andrey Duksin's actions in these matters and cease any and all cooperation with him and his partners. We stop supporting all of his projects and initiatives on all the resources that we control. Andrey's membership on our site is permanently revoked from now on.

We call on our readers to cease any support towards this person and the goods and services he provides. We understand that punishing a product for its creator's despicable actions towards competition, consumers, readers and every person interested seems wrong, but supporting Andrey financially would be detrimental for the whole community. The SCP Foundation is our common heritage, not a plaything for a single person whose actions and motives are morally and legally questionable.

The SCP Foundation belongs to all of us, not to him alone.

We will not condemn anyone for the purchases made. We have no reservations towards the part of Andrey's enterprise that seems more or less legal – save for a few minute unrelated issues. On one hand, Andrey's actions towards attracting attention to the project may be deemed substantial, but on the other hand, the things listed above cross his accomplishments out, negating any possible admiration and support towards him.

We count on your support. Tell your friends about this situation, place a post in social media, publish it in Instagram, or post a video on YouTube. The more people know about this, the harder it would be to turn the Foundation into a bland souvenir shop.

We do not expect Andrey to agree with us and rescind the trademark in good will. On the contrary, we expect attacks on our resources and ourselves. Any actions towards us will also be posted here. Updates on the process will also be posted here.

This message will also be posted on other branches.

Questions and answers

What does it change for me as a site member?

Nothing. The site will function as it did before. More sensitive discussions may appear on the forum and in the chat, but this it to be expected in situations like these.

I am a fan of the ARTSCP project. Will any actions be taken towards me for that reason?

No. We will not block and/or harass users solely for the support they give Andrey.

How can I help you?

Like we said, information helps. Share it in social media. If you know something about Andrey's illegal actions, or worse, if you have suffered from these actions, tell us about it. We will not divulge your identity without your agreement.

Still, we'd ask you to refrain from provocative actions and bullying. This will definitely not benefit the SCP Foundation and will only tarnish our reputation instead. Use the facts we have published, they speak for themselves. You've already had the chance to see for yourselves.

Why are you only reacting now?

We intentionally took the time to study the legal side of the matter and pace ourselves. We've also spent much time to interact with the English wiki and see where they stand legally.

Why can't it be solved peacefully?

The strictness of our position is based on Andrey's attitude towards his competitors, customers and people who don't agree with him in general. We've received correspondence logs, screenshots with offensive and immoral ban reasons. Finally, the initial attempt to appropriate others' intellectual property behind our backs has made it a matter of principle.

Andrey was extremely well-disposed and friendly with everyone? He was slandered and this is what you do after everything he's done for you?!

The thing is, when two partners are working on something together, they make their intentions clear and take no actions that would hurt the other person's interests. We'd like to remind you that the trademark claim was filed on June 05, 2017, and we only learned about it on September 13, 2018 – solely because Andrey needed to enlist our help. This doesn't look like a friendly action.

We also have reasons to expect that Andrey's "friendship" was only about to last for as long as it was in line with his monetary interests.

Andrey has done a lot for the Foundation, raised its popularity immensely, started several unique projects without peer, you have no right to treat him like this!

We act within the limits of the current law and intend to restore justice. We will not tolerate the rights of our readers and members being violated. No past accomplishments can be good reason to turn a blind eye to that. In his recent post Andrey stated that creative writing and translation are ongoing on the site, unhindered by his trademark. This is true, although none of his actions contribute to it. Andrey's actions brought nothing new to the Foundation, every project was built on existing works made by other people. We'd like to note that Andrey, as a member of our site, only made some minor edits, so his own contribution to the site is close to non-existing.

We also cannot help but note that ARTSCP book releases, and Foundation-themed functions on various exhibitions and festivals did not influence the Foundation's popluarity by as much as Andrey uses to say. The only notable surge in popularity happened in the beginning of 2019 when Andrey ordered some targeted advertisements on vk.com. That increased the daily amount of visits by 2 to 2.5 times compared to relatively quiet periods in earlier years. This is a notable increase, but nowhere near to the "dozens of times" claimed. We'd like to state that Andrey's estimates of his influence towards the site's popularity are exaggerated, to say the least, and are not to be taken seriously.

There is also a point concerning the influence and popularity: the contents of the site and the artbooks (especially, tomes 2 and 3) were promoted towards a younger audience using the aforementioned targeted advertising. You can see an example on the screenshot – the age rating stated is 12+, while the site and the artbooks are listed as 18+.

Andrey has put huge amounts of money into developing the Foundation universe! His investments deserve to be protected!

This is not an accomplishment in and of itself, and we were not shown any bank statements. It should also be made clear that Andrew invested in his own business, which is a different thing. This is not the main issue, though.

Any business presumes certain risks, financial risks first and foremost. There is always the possibility of not making enough profit, and breaking even is considered a good scenario in some cases. If you're so much afraid of competition taking your money away, is your product even good enough if it needs restrictive measures like that? Take a look from this perspective. Actions like these may only do a disservice for a competitive, commercially viable product – which ARTSCP production certainly is.

Still, regardless of Andrey's motivations, registering the trademark is a violation of license terms as listed above.

You do understand that you and your actions put large-scale projects like movies and AAA-games to the risk of not happening at all? You harm the community and the Foundation!

We take no actions against any SCP-related projects given that they are distributed according to CC-BY-SA 3.0. We will be glad to discover and provide media support for these glorious derivative works when they appear. But if their creation necessitates violating our legal rights – the rights of authors, translators, artists, enterpreneurs, and readers – these projects are not worth it. The attempt to monopolize SCP Foundation creativity is disgusting as it is, especially given the circumstances that surround it and happen because of it.

What will happen to the SCP Foundation after this situation is resolved?

All will be well, we will grow and improve.

What will happen to ARTSCP after this situation is resolved?

Andrey will retain the right to produce various SCP-branded merchandise, given that the license terms are thoroughly complied with. The question whether artists, partners and customers will be willing to participate, we'd like to keep unanswered.

Afterword

We are undoubtedly sure that the situation will resolve to our benefit, and the legal rights of all SCP Foundation readers and members will be restored. We surely wish this conflict wouldn't have existed, and our project would be thriving. We are sure this is what will happen. We also believe that wide coverage of this issue will benefit towards the perception of things like free licenses and contracts of adhesion in our country's legal environment, and that legal literacy of our readers and members would be improved.

We value your support, we are proud that our community is truly active and loyal to our common cause. Your support will inevitably help us achieve success. Thank you for all the things you are doing for us!

We are ready to provide answers to any questions you might have in this article's discussion thread.

Sincerely, Dmitry Zelten

Site Administrator

Russian SCP Foundation branch