In a nutshell, virtually anyone can order a stamp with any image from Ukrposhta and put a tick on their copyright in the order form.
Bohdana Chilikina was very surprised when she saw stamps with her own famous painting in the sales on eBay, reports dev.ua. The painting “There are people here” tells about the horrific bombing of Mariupol and other cities of Ukraine by the Russian occupiers in the language of art. It is emotionally important to the artist and cannot be monetized.
The author emphasizes that she does not want to make money from this painting. At one time, she only allowed the painting to be used for a theater poster and in a history textbook — to spread information about the tragedy.
“Ukrposhta printed the print run as part of its “Own Stamp” service: anyone can order a stamp with the image provided. The only proof of copyright is a tick in the order, without any verification by the postal company.
The question of Ukrposhta’s liability for violations committed by the customer is a matter of debate. But, on the other hand, it is still a question of the company’s profit in the form of payment for the order, which came from copyright infringement. The court to which Bohdana Chilikina appealed should decide on this issue.
“I didn’t want to make money on this topic, it has a completely different message. I have no desire to hype this at all, but I see no other way out if Ukrposhta behaves like this. I did not want to make money on this topic, it has a completely different message. I have no desire to hype it at all, but I see no other way out,” the artist told dev.ua.
Chilikina’s sister saw the stamps on eBay, where they were being sold for $20 each, and the number of stamps sold had already reached 60. The sale was being handled by a user named Seaman from Odesa, who immediately “sent” the author a foul message in response to her request. She learned that this user had long been printing and selling stamps, including those based on paintings by other artists. Given the behavior, she suspects the fraudster’s connection to Ukrposhta, but this assumption has no evidence. However, Seaman, by a strange coincidence, withdrew the offer from eBay when the artist started corresponding with the company.
“Ukrposhta did not satisfy Bohdana Chilikina’s request to disclose information about the customer: “When we sent them an official request, they actually sent me to the same place, only in a cultural form.” The artist hoped to the last that the stamp was a fake, but the company confirmed it: “Yes, this is our work.” Interestingly, in 2023, the author offered Ukrposhta to provide the painting for the stamp printing for free, but was refused. Now that the case has become legal, the artist has officially registered her copyright to the painting.
Bohdana Chilikina wrote about this case on Facebook. Ihor Smelyansky, CEO of «Ukrposhta», commented on the post in very categorical terms.
“Bohdana, of course Ukrposhta is bad and all that. But I gave you a simple and clear answer:
1) Ukrposhta sells stamps at regulated rates because they are tokens of payment. Therefore, your painting there or the painting of the girl from Mykolaiv does not add any additional financial gain to us. In this case, the offender who ordered the stamp received the financial benefit, but for some reason you do not judge him. It’s like judging Tesla for being used in an attack on a bank, because Tesla should have checked who it was selling the car to
2) In the terms of service, we have a clause where the customer writes that he has the rights to the image. It was the same in this case.
3) Can Ukrposhta check all images? This is not possible even with AI. Because we don’t know whether someone has used a picture from a private collection, or a photo by a photographer, etc. Therefore, the cost of such expert checks will be thousands of dollars, and then we just have to close the project. And for what? To make it easier for you to judge us instead of the offender?
Therefore, our position is clear and understandable and fully complies with the law, including international law.”
The CEO of the company responded in the same tone in his comments regarding the provision of information about the customer.
“There is a thing called personal data protection. We can’t give it away to anyone. If there is a court decision, we will provide it according to the decision.”
According to lawyer Serhiy Dzis, quoted by dev.ua, Ukrposhta can still be brought to the case as a co-defendant. To do this, it is necessary to prove that the printing took place at the company’s facilities, and that the order executor knew or should have known about the copyright infringement. He adds that proving rights to a work of art published online is based on the presumption of authorship. Even screenshots, as well as file data or notarization of the publication can be evidence. The legal practice of such cases in Ukraine is limited, so it is difficult to predict what decision the court will make.
Similar cases with Ukrposhta stamps have already occurred. Previously, the publication reported about the author’s public statement one of the stamps with the dog Patron regarding copyright infringement by the postal operator
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