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Court satisfies Moscow resident’s claim against McDonald's using poetry in advertising

Moscow resident Ivan Sergeev said he holds the rights for Adelina Adalis’ literary work and did not give McDonald's the rights to use it in the company’s advertising

MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Moscow’s Tverskoy district court partially satisfied the claim of Moscow resident Ivan Sergeev against McDonald's for illegal use of Adelina Adalis’ poetry in advertising. According to Sergeev, he holds the rights for its use and distribution.

"The court partially satisfied the plaintiff’s claims, recovering 50,000 rubles ($759.4) from McDonald's, Moscow - McDonald's, Snegiri - Muzika, and Star Richerz each as a compensation for infringement of exclusive rights, and the state fee of 2,000 rubles ($30.37) from each organization," the court spokesman Anastasia Dzyurko told TASS.

The court also ordered the defendants to publish the court's decision on their websites one month from the date the decision enters into force. The Court invalidated the use of poetry without permission, as well as prohibited to read it on the air or use in any another way.

In total 10 organizations were named defendants in the lawsuit, including TV channels TNT, TV3, Pyatnica, Zvezda, REN-TV that aired these commercials. Initially, Sergeev asked to recover 35 mln rubles ($531,595) of compensation from the defendants.

As expected, the Court’s decision will be disputed.

In his lawsuit, Sergeev said he holds the rights for Adelina Adalis’ literary work and did not give McDonald's the rights to use it in the company’s advertising.