The grandson of the sculptor Vuchetich laid claim to the “Motherland”: not a public property

The second scandal this year erupted regarding the legendary “Motherland” on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd. At first, a concerned activist demanded that the sculpture be dressed up in the spirit of traditional values, since it was too bare.

And now the grandson of the author of the monument and its full namesake, Evgeniy Vuchetich, wanted to receive royalties for every demonstration of the “Motherland” anywhere, and also have his own percentage of souvenirs with her image.

The grandson believes that, first of all, this is not a national treasure, but part of the inheritance inherited from his grandfather. Therefore, whoever wants to look at the symbol of the city of Volgograd, as well as buy a mug, T-shirt or magnet with it, will probably also include a percentage for a descendant in the price.

Rospatent, by the way, at one time refused to register the trademark “Motherland” at the request of Vuchetich Jr., because it considered that the exclusive rights to the sculpture initially belonged to the state as the customer, and the heirs could only have the personal non-property rights of the author. In addition, from the certificate of the right to inheritance of the grandson, it is not possible to establish in respect of which specific objects the copyright is valid and inherited by the applicant.

But in January 2019, information appeared on the website of the Moscow Association of Copyright Holders for the Protection and Management of Copyrights in the Field of Art that the heir of the sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich entrusted them with the management of his rights, and they, in turn, interact with applicants exclusively on a commercial basis, or simply They say they help get money for creative inheritance.

In 2021, the Intellectual Rights Court upheld the grandson’s claim regarding the invalidity of granting rights to the trademark of the image of the sculpture “The Motherland is Calling!”, which was once issued to the Battle of Stalingrad Museum-Reserve, where the monument stands.

The museum-reserve itself expressed its point of view on the growing scandal.

— Sculpture “The Motherland Calls!” as a work of fine art, it is subject to copyright of a private person (his heirs), which are regulated by Part 4 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and do not contain any exceptions, regardless of the history of its creation. This fact emphasizes the imperfection of Russian legislation, especially in modern realities, since the creation of such memorials in Soviet times met, first of all, the interests of the state and society. In fact, during the transition from the Soviet legal system to the modern one, the Russian state did not ensure the protection of its rights in this area in such cases.

Sculpture “The Motherland is Calling!” as part of the Memorial complex “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” on Mamayev Kurgan is an object of cultural heritage of federal significance and, together with all other objects of the Museum-Reserve “Battle of Stalingrad”, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation it is classified as a particularly valuable object of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation and, accordingly, with from the point of view of the legislation of the Russian Federation on objects of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation, has a special status.

– But will you have to pay?

— The fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on culture provide the Museum-Reserve with the opportunity to exercise its right to grant third parties the right to use images of cultural heritage objects on a paid or gratuitous basis, depending on the purpose of use. We have always been guided by the purpose of using the image and, if it was not of a commercial nature, but contributed to the perception of the sculpture as the most important object of patriotic education, then the rights were provided free of charge.

— Has your museum also applied for trademark registration?

— The decision to submit an application to Rospatent for registration of a trademark with such an image was made by the Museum-Reserve in 2009, since various types of products containing the image of the sculpture became widespread in civil circulation, and again in 2016, in order to streamline and uniformize , the desire to prevent distorted use of the image of the monument. We did not encounter any obstacles from the sculptor’s heir – at that time his widow Vera Vladimirovna Vuchetich.

– But the current heir did not agree with this?

— The sculptor’s grandson did not agree to grant the Museum-Reserve the right to use the trademark depicting the sculpture and entered into an agreement for the implementation of the sculptor’s copyright on his own behalf with the Association of Copyright Holders for the Protection and Management of Copyrights in the Field of Fine Arts, which interacts with all applicants exclusively on a commercial basis basis.

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The staff of the museum-reserve emphasized that they do not share the heir’s position on granting the rights to use images of the sculpture on a paid basis for their non-commercial use by third parties.

“Image of the sculpture “The Motherland is Calling!” has long and firmly been associated throughout the world with the Volgograd region. The grandiose Battle of Stalingrad took place on the territory of the Volgograd region, which largely turned the tide of the Great Patriotic War and determined the further historical destinies of both Russia and all of humanity.”

However, they say that the standard rate for the Motherland is not that high – from 350 rubles per image for the entire circulation up to 2000 copies. And it seems that they will not be allowed to pay only for her image on the coat of arms and flag of the Volgograd region.

In three weeks it will be 50 years since the death of the legendary sculptor, Vuchetich the grandfather. So, of course, it’s nice that the grandson will have something to celebrate them with. In return, the state can also demand something from him, for example, rent for finding a sculpture on blood-stained ground…

There would be a desire. At the same time, all parties can continue to talk a lot about exploits, glory, patriotism and historical memory. It’s not what they say that matters, but what they do.