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Granddad in ad feud: Court rejects suit by grandson of Soviet leader for banner image

Andrey Brezhnev, the grandson of late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, demanded compensatory damages from the use of his grandfather’s image in a Parker pens ad

Leonid Brezhnev Vladimir Musaelyan, Valentin Sobolev/TASS

Leonid Brezhnev

© Vladimir Musaelyan, Valentin Sobolev/TASS

NOVOSIBIRSK, December 1. /TASS/. The Oktyabrsky District Court in the Russian city of Novosibirsk has rejected a lawsuit filed by Andrey Brezhnev, the grandson of late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, demanding compensatory damages from the use of his grandfather’s image in a Parker pens ad, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.

"The court has decided to reject Andrey Brezhnev’s demands," Judge Irina Bareisha announced.

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Andrey Brezhnev did not attend the court hearing. Through his lawyers, he demanded that the Time Presence company pay only 150 rubles ($2.5), including 99 rubles ($1.7) in compensation for illicit enrichment and 51 rubles ($0.8) for moral damage. The plaintiff’s lawyers said that the way the image was used in an advertisement banner was demeaning, and it inflicted moral pain and suffering on their client.

The company’s spokesman, in turn, said that Andrey Brezhnev was an improper plaintiff in the case because a grandson cannot represent his grandfather in court. Besides, she said that the company had used Leonid Brezhnev’s image unintentionally. "We were just browsing the Web in search of an image standing for something wise, and this was what we came across."

According to earlier reports, the banner in question was placed on the facade of the Tsum department store in downtown Novosibirsk in late 2016. The large banner, advertising Parker pens, depicted Leonid Brezhnev and featured his famous quote reading: "The economy must be economical."

Leonid Brezhnev was a Soviet-era statesman and politician, who governed the USSR from 1964 to 1982.

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