Artist Francesca Yarbusova, who created the visual style of the cartoon " It requires recognizing copyright violations, since the bank concluded an agreement only with Soyuzmultfilm, although the rights to original drawings belong to her precisely.

Rossmi write about this. In September 2024, the Central Bank released a series of memorable coins dedicated to the cartoon.

At first glance, this event was to be a symbol of respect for the cult cartoon, however, for Yuri Norshtein - the director of the cartoon - and the Franchy Yarbusova, who created his artistic image, this decision became a violation of their rights. Norstein reacted tightly to the release of coins, calling the actions of the Central Bank "

He stated that neither he nor his wife gave permission to use the image of a hedgehog. In response, the Central Bank explained that he entered into an appropriate agreement with Soyuzmultfilm, officially owning the rights to Soviet cartoons.

Nevertheless, Norshtein and Yarbusov insist that it is the authors of the original cartoon that have the priority right to use their work, and that Soyuzmultfilm illegally appropriated the rights to Soviet animation after the reorganization of the studio in 2017. A series of collection coins with a hedgehog in the fog included three options:.

On all coins there is no mention of the real authors of the character, which was the main subject of indignation from Yarbusova and Norstein. Coins immediately became popular among collectors.

Yarbusova filed a lawsuit against the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow, accusing the Central Bank of violating her copyright. According to her, the bank used its artistic images without permission, without indicating authorship and without the payment of royalties. In her lawsuit, she demands:.

This is not the first time that the rights of the authors of Soviet animations are at risk. After the collapse of the USSR, many rights to animation films were transferred to various commercial structures, which led to constant disputes between authors and studios.

Soyuzmultfilm, which today controls the rights to most Soviet cartoons, insists that its actions are completely legal. Representatives of the studio explain that after the reorganization of 2017, the company received the right to use animated characters for commercial purposes.

In their opinion, the Central Bank did not violate any laws, since all licensed agreements were concluded in accordance with applicable law. However, Norshtein categorically disagree with this interpretation. He said that in the 70s, artists who worked on cartoons did not sign agreements on the transfer of copyright to the studio.

Thus, no structure has the right to independently dispose of their work. At the moment, the court has not yet made a decision in the lawsuit of Yarbusova, but the case has already received broad publicity.