The Supreme Court ordered HBO to pay 500 thousand UAH to the widow of the Chernobyl clean-up worker.

According to ТСН: The Civil Cassation Court of the Supreme Court issued a final ruling in the case against the HBO television company, obliging it to pay 500 thousand UAH in moral compensation to Lyudmyla Ihnatenko – the widow of the Chernobyl disaster liquidator Vasyl Ihnatenko.

Illegal use of names

The court established that the name of Lyudmyla Ihnatenko and her husband was used illegally in the series 'Chernobyl' without their consent, which is a violation of personal non-property right to a name. The Supreme Court noted that the demand to remove certain scenes from the series is not effective for protection.

The ruling states that such interference would not eliminate the violation and could distort the integrity of the work and violate the rights of other persons. Therefore, the court decided to keep the applicant's name in the series, but increased the amount of compensation to 500 thousand UAH. This decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Claim of the liquidator's widow

Lyudmyla Ihnatenko filed a lawsuit in 2020, claiming that HBO used her name and her husband's name, a firefighter who died after the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, without her permission. The widow sought to stop the violations of rights, to remove specific scenes from the series, to prohibit its distribution until the violations are resolved, and to claim 2.5 million UAH in moral damages.

According to her, the illegal use of names led to serious emotional distress due to excessive media attention and attention from surrounding people, which even forced her to change her place of residence.

Court decisions

The first-instance court refused to satisfy the claim, citing the lack of evidence for the demands. During the re-examination, the appellate court recognized that the names of the characters were used, but refused to remove the scenes and only awarded 144 thousand UAH in compensation.

The applicant insisted that the removal of scenes should be an acceptable way of protection and does not distort the content of the series, considering the amount of compensation to be underestimated. The producers of the series, on the other hand, argued that the scenes are documentary in nature and denied the fact of violation.

The Cassation Court partially supported Lyudmyla Ihnatenko, finally recognizing the violation of her rights and increasing the amount of moral compensation to half a million UAH.

This case highlights the importance of personal rights, even in the context of artistic works. The court ruling not only protects the person whose name was used without consent but also raises questions about the ethical boundaries of creativity in the modern media landscape. Discussing such issues is significant not only in legal terms but also in the social sphere, as it touches upon the theme of the relationship between art and individual rights.