The well-known polymath, the favorite of intellectual games, political consultant Anatoly Wasserman is reputed to be a good-natured and tolerant person. However, even the most benign people sooner or later run out of patience when their lives are shamelessly invaded from the outside. And even more so when they begin to make impolite money on their image. Wasserman went to court with a lawsuit against the company, which released a batch of T-shirts with his stylized photo, signed "Onotole".
The political consultant is convinced that agreeing with a person in any use of his image is an elementary politeness that cannot be ignored. And if someone has behaved impolitely, he should be taught.
The T-shirt manufacturer, in turn, denied the fact that Anatoly Wasserman was depicted on the clothes. Its representatives claimed that any other elderly person with a beard could be depicted on the T-shirts. In their opinion, Alexei Venediktov, the editor-in-chief of the radio station Echo of Moscow, and Vladimir Churov, the head of the Central Election Commission, and Artur Chilingarov, the famous polar explorer, and many other bearded people, look exactly the same, in their opinion.
In order to confirm the fact of the image on Anatoly Wasserman's T-shirts, an independent examination was carried out. The commission's conclusion was unambiguous - it was Wasserman.
The litigation lasted six months, and ended with the victory of the polymath. Personally, he was pleased with such a result, despite the fact that only 110 thousand rubles were awarded, i.e. one fifth of the amount claimed in the claim. "If the court's decision was not in my favor," said Anatoly Aleksandrovich, "it would only confirm the imperfection of modern laws on intellectual property."
Wasserman emphasized that he is not concerned with the monetary side of the matter, but that it is necessary to shorten those who use recognizable images for commercial purposes.
Unlike the plaintiff, the erudite lawyer is dissatisfied with the court's decision, which ordered the T-shirt manufacturer to pay Anatoly Alexandrovich 100 thousand rubles for moral damage and 10 thousand for legal costs, refusing to compensate half a million rubles for lost profits. The lawyer intends to appeal the court decision within a month.
According to Anatoly Wasserman, several companies approached him for permission to use his image, and such permission was given to them. Those who ignore these rules should receive the punishment they deserve.
