Duksin depicted as a MTF member by an ARTSCP illustrator; also his profile picture on WikiDot.

Andrei Vladimirovich Duksin (also known as Andrey Duxin or by his WikiDot username TechnoMage/ARTSCP) is a Russian entrepreneur, past owner of the ARTSCP media company,^[1]https://artscp.com/en/about/ and the former illegitimate trademark holder for the SCP Foundation logo in the Russian Federation’s Federal Intellectual Property Service (Rospatent).^[2]https://www1.fips.ru/fips_servl/fips_servlet?DB=RUTM&rn=1248&DocNumber=661748&TypeFile=html His actions resulted in the #StandWithSCPRU campaign.

Biography

Duksin joined WikiDot on September 12, 2012, and presumably joined the Russian branch of the SCP Foundation shortly thereafter.^[3]http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/artscp He began collaborating with SCP-RU staff in mid-2015, when he first proposed the creation of an SCP artbook.

The first known interaction between Duksin and the English SCP Foundation (SCP-EN) was in June 2015, when he messaged SCP-EN staff to request permission for a Russian SCP artbook with custom depictions of well-known SCP-EN articles.^[4]http://05command.wikidot.com/forum/t-1270986/archived-scp-ru-artbook, archive The idea was received positively, and Duksin was informed about the CC BY-SA 3.0 licensing requirements, which he agreed to follow.

Controversy

Duksin is infamous within the greater SCP communities as the individual who illegally trademarked the SCP Foundation logo, which like the material of the site (and the content of Duksin’s ARTSCP books) was required to be CC-BY-SA 3.0. The CC license ensures and demands that any use of material from the SCP Wiki is freely distributed, only requiring attribution (BY), and that the derivative work also abides by the same license (SA). Trademarking the SCP Foundation logo was inherently contradictory to the CC license. This came to the attention of the SCP-RU and international communities in late 2018 and early 2019, respectively.^[5]http://scpfoundation.net/artscp

Trademark Registration and Legal Battles

In 2017, a large film company contacted Duksin about producing a movie based on the SCP Foundation. Duksin acted as an intermediary between the film company and the SCP-RU administration. During negotiations, it became apparent that the CC license would prevent the filmmakers from securing exclusive distribution rights.^[6]http://scpfoundation.net/artscp

Likely in an attempt to circumvent the CC license restrictions, Duksin registered the SCP Foundation logo as a trademark without the knowledge or consent of the SCP-RU staff. The SCP-RU staff discovered this approximately a year later when Geekfunco, a merchant selling SCP-related merchandise, was blocked from forming a community on VK at the request of “an unknown trademark holder.”^[7]https://web.archive.org/web/20200428004712/http://05command.wikidot.com/russia-licensing-statement

After being confronted, Duksin attempted to recruit the SCP-RU staff to help him enforce the trademark to eliminate competition. He claimed that he had trademarked the logo for the benefit of the community, allowing for higher-production-value products like films and games that would expand the SCP Foundation’s audience.^[8]http://scpfoundation.net/artscp

“Symbiosis. Parasitism. Licensing.” Article

In his article “Symbiosis. Parasitism. Licensing.” (now deleted but preserved), Duksin claimed:

Show Quote

“The lack of a trademark was an obstacle for the publication of our artbooks under the auspices of the largest publishing house in the CIS – EKSMO… The main purpose of registering a trademark is not books, but the production of high-budget films and computer games. Not indie crafts like SCP: CB or SCP: SL, but full-fledged, serious projects. We wrote about this in the conclusion of Volume 3 of our book… It was the lack of a stable licensing background that prevented the production of this kind of high-quality content. Now that the obstacles have been removed, it is not long to wait until every fan of the SCP Foundation universe can enjoy watching a high-budget movie about the Foundation, or play a computer game that will not be ashamed to present at E3.”

Duksin noted that everything with the SCP-RU was still operational, and that the trademark doesn’t affect the continuation of articles. He discusses a symbiosis that exists between ARTSCP and SCP-RU where his project would get creative inspiration and material, while the SCP-RU would enjoy more exposure, fans, and influence. He also quoted having invested “several million rubles” into the propagation and marketing of the SCP universe, and that he increased the popularity of the SCP Foundation in Russia by tenfold.^[9]http://web.archive.org/web/20190509213827/https://vk.com/@artscp-logo

In the same article, Duksin attacked a seller of SCP merchandise he referred to as “Aunt Lena,” accusing her of selling overpriced products with the SCP logo despite only knowing about the SCP Foundation for a year. He justified his actions by claiming he was protecting fans from this seller, and described the backlash against him as organized cyberbullying and malicious defamation.^[10]http://web.archive.org/web/20190509213827/https://vk.com/@artscp-logo

Show Quote

“The trademark registered by Andrey and the ARTSCP project directly prevented Aunt Lena from sucking money from the gullible fans of the Foundation’s universe… we will not react in any way to those who are trying for their own selfish purposes to prevent us from developing the SCP Foundation universe… We will not disclose their personal data, because it is against the law, and we are used to obeying laws.

In Summer 2018, Duksin used his trademark to threaten, extort, and shut down other competitors to his products.^[11]http://scpfoundation.net/artscp He petitioned VK to take down the official SCP Foundation page, which was later restored with Duksin as the owner. In response to growing community outrage, Duksin wrote an article attempting to justify his actions, which has since been deleted but is preserved in the Internet Archive.^[12]https://vk.com/@artscp-logo^[13]http://web.archive.org/web/20190509213827/https://www.vk.com/@artscp-logo

Resolution

In April 2022, an appeal to the Intellectual Property Rights Court by the SCP Wiki’s legal representatives was granted, and ruled that Duksin’s acquisition and possession of the SCP trademark was illegal.^[14]https://web.archive.org/web/20230407173525/https://m.vk.com/@scpfanpage-rezume-po-konfliktu-s-andreem-duksinym^[15] … Continue reading^[16] … Continue reading

ARTSCP

ARTSCP is a Russian company based in St. Petersburg that was started in 2015 by Andrei Duksin. The company produces an array of media content and commercial goods based exclusively on the SCP Foundation universe including notebooks, plushies, metal-cast figurines, pens, stickers, keychains, calendars, and most notably a series of thematic artbooks.^[17]https://artscp.com/en/ Most of these products are based on articles specific to the SCP Foundation Wiki English branch (SCP-EN), though some entries in the artbooks are specific to works created on the Russian branch (-RU). The company hires illustrators to create their products.^[18]https://artscp.com/about/^[19]https://artscp-com.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_hist=true

The domain name “ARTSCP.com” was registered in August 2015, with the first recorded content being the announcement of a calendar product in December 2015.^[20]https://lookup.icann.org/lookup^[21]http://web.archive.org/web/20151204114642/http://artscp.com/ Duksin created an ARTSCP VK group and posted to it regularly in its early years.^[22]https://web.archive.org/web/20161107211021/https://vk.com/artscp

ARTSCP has numerous social media outlets, such as its Pinterest.^[23]https://www.pinterest.com/scpfoundation_artscp/

Artbooks

ARTSCP books by Andrei Duksin were initially published by KOMILFO, a comic-book subsidiary of the large Russian publishing house Eksmo since 2017.^[24]http://www.komilfobook.ru/^[25]https://archive.ph/phRH4#selection-1027.0-1035.4^[26]http://www.komilfobook.ru/index.php/ob-izdatelstve^[27]https://publishingperspectives.com/2018/02/russia-eksmo-acquires-kofilmo-marvel-comics-publisher/ KOMILFO had a contract with Duksin for publication of the ARTSCP books through 2023, but ceased in 2021 due to the controversy surrounding Duksin.^[28]https://www.gofundme.com/f/scp-legal-funds, Update March 27, 2021^[29]https://www.reddit.com/r/DankMemesFromSite19/comments/mfmxz6/satisfaction_to_the_max/, archive In August 2019, ARTSCP became its own publishing house, and was to print the third volume of the artbook itself.^[30]https://vk.com/wall-98801766_12315

• Artbook 1 was released in June 2016.^[31]https://web.archive.org/web/20161107210421/https://vk.com/scpfoundation
• Artbook 2 was released in 2017.^[32]https://web.archive.org/web/20200130082727/https://artscp.com/goods/2
• Artbook 3 was released in 2019.^[33]https://web.archive.org/web/20200130082009/https://artscp.com/goods/3
• Artbook 4 was released in 2022.^[34]https://www.wildberries.ru/catalog/133634581/detail.aspx?targetUrl=GP

ParaBooks

“We are a new publishing house that specialize in mystic-themed comics, artbooks with various monsters and other cool supernatural stuff.””^[35]https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/25163882 — from ParaBooks’ Indiegogo campaign

ParaBooks’ second funding campaign, 2022. Dates highlighted. (Click for source.)

In August 2020, Duksin sold the rights of his SCP Artbooks to ParaBooks,^[36]https://archive.ph/MhWTw#selection-413.1-413.39 (previously Paranormal Activity Books^[37]https://archive.ph/dsF7K#selection-5277.17-5277.42) a publishing house and general merchandise store based out of Honolulu, Hawaii.^[38]https://para-books.com/ ParaBooks is the US subsidiary of Andrei Duksin’s prior publishing house, KOMILFO.^[39]https://archive.ph/r8xA2#selection-2895.0-2903.409^[40]https://www.gofundme.com/f/scp-legal-funds, Update March 27, 2021

The company launched two fundraising campaigns:

1. An initial campaign on Indiegogo in December 2020 (now closed), which raised $1,666,693 USD from 8,607 backers.^[41]https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/25163882, archive^[42]https://para-books.com/blogs/news/test, archive
2. A second fundraiser for paperback editions launched on GoFundMe and other platforms from 07/26/22 – 09/24/22, which raised $1,512,336 from 12,497 backers.^[43]https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/parabooks/scp-foundation-artbooks-new-paperback-edition/posts, archive^[44]https://web.archive.org/web/20230118161318/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/parabooks/scp-foundation-artbooks-new-paperback-edition/posts^[45]https://www.kicktraq.com/projects/parabooks/scp-foundation-artbooks-new-paperback-edition/^[46]https://www.backerkit.com/projects/parabooks/scp-foundation-artbooks-new-paperback-edition

The Indiegogo campaign received some press coverage.^[47]https://www.comixasylum.com/scp-foundation-artbooks-launch-indiegogo-campaign/

ParaBooks maintains an Instagram, YouTube channel, and an Amazon storefront.^[48]https://www.instagram.com/para.books/^[49]https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCODPICxbsfb1lO-lu1_zFXg^[50]https://www.amazon.com/stores/Para-Books/author/B0B43583P1?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Other Projects and Contributions

Duksin claims responsibility or partial responsibility for the creation and production of:^[51]http://web.archive.org/web/20190509213827/https://vk.com/@artscp-logo

• ARTSCP
• Several SCP Calendars
• Three volumes of high-quality SCP illustrations, with original articles included
• A free cross-platform SCP reader application: app.artscp.com
• A board game based on the SCP Foundation (pending)
• Tens of thousands of new readers of the SCP Foundation universe
• A role-playing game based on SCP Foundation, in collaboration with Studio 101 (pending)
• A high-budget film (pending)
• Numerous major science fiction convention exhibits

Trivia

• Duksin demanded to be instated as administrator of the Russian branch of the SCP Foundation Wiki.^[52]https://www.gofundme.com/f/scp-legal-funds
• ParaBooks was created in the US soon after ceasing the publication of Duksin’s books under the KOMILFO name.^[53]https://archive.ph/r8xA2#selection-2901.0-2903.92
• In an interview, ParaBooks does not mention or distance themselves from Duksin.^[54]https://archive.ph/r8xA2
• During the time Duksin had the illegitimate trademark on the SCP Foundation logo, ARTSCP.com linked to a SCP Foundation VK page that was created in 2012, and that was initially unaffiliated with Duksin; the site links to a YouTube channel as well.^[55]https://vk.com/scpfoundation^[56]https://web.archive.org/web/20120701053857/https://vk.com/scpfoundation^[57]https://www.youtube.com/c/SCPFoundationARTSCP/featured
• ARTSCP is/was on Instagram as “an association of professional CG artists. We create the best illustrations for the SCP Foundation and publish artbooks.”^[58]https://www.instagram.com/artscp/?hl=en
• Given the similarity to the project and its products, the SCP Wiki fanbase exhibited suspicion over the project, wondering if it was led by Andrei Duksin.^[59]https://www.reddit.com/r/SCP/comments/wgu2rz/worried_about_the_parabooks_kickstarter/, archive This is in part due to an About Us page on the ParaBooks website that lists a Russian-named participant (Vlad) and mention of an anonymous “Mysterious Founder”.^[60]https://archive.ph/MhWTw#selection-439.0-455.231 John Beattie, aka Master Administrator DrEverettMann on the SCP Wiki, and organizer of the lawsuit against Duksin as well as the GoFundMe campaign, wrote: “Hello Everyone, I’m happy to report that Andrey Duksin’s former publisher, KOMILFO, has recently announced that they have ceased printing Duksin’s artbooks despite two years remaining on their contract. KOMILFO and their US subsidiary Paranormal Activity Books are wholly innocent of Duksin’s actions, and they are committed to creating and publishing SCP content that properly follows Creative Commons Share-Alike 3.0. Needless to say, we applaud this decision!”^[61]https://www.gofundme.com/f/scp-legal-funds, Update March 27, 2021
• ARTSCP art can be found on DeviantArt.
• You might come across an ARTSCP book at Walmart.^[62]archive
• Aloha Comics LLC is an off-shoot project of ParaBooks, the holders of the rights to the ARTSCP books.^[63]https://alohacomics.company.site/

Various Quotes

Post Court November 2020 Decision^[64]https://vk.com/chaspravosud?w=wall-75214252_821

Show More

Andrey Duxin I have said many times that I have not broken any laws. And the official executive bodies have confirmed this.

But you just like to fight against someone?) As gopniks, you attack one person in a crowd – exactly the one who most of all in the Russian Federation develops the Foundation’s universe by absolutely legal methods

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I didn’t take anything from anyone. The site owners deliberately made me a villain and a villain who took something away from someone. But I did not take anything from anyone – I just issued papers that in no way limit the development of the Fund, but on the contrary – they allow it to develop to new horizons.

But who cares about this, if “the chief said that Andrey is an asshole,” then Andrey is really an asshole. Ha)

Specialist – like a dog in the manger. Even if he does not know how to develop the Fund (because he lacks a number of skills for this), he will still try to drown those who “encroached on his power”

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And I deliberately deleted the video message [Duksin created a video promising he’d take down the trademark voluntarily before the lawsuit started]. Because I really wanted to meet you halfway and voluntarily cancel the trademark – that’s why the video message was recorded. And then I got a huge amount of threats in PM against me, my family, my property, etc. I realized that I didn’t want to meet such people and gave up the idea of canceling the trademark – which, according to the law, I have every right

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Alexander, what was installed in the FAS and what Chasov wrote are generally different things. Or do you unconditionally believe the words of the defending loser lawyer?

world community recognized me as a villain solely because the Specialist wrote to the Anglics and they did not contact me and check his words. Why check if you can make money on crowdfunding by raising money to fight a Russian villain? And then the YouTubers replicated the “sensation” to have fun.

And the most cunning turned out to be Mr. Beatty, who also earned 160k dollars from this situation. I would not even be surprised if he did not share a cent of this amount with either the Specialist or Chusov.

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I repeat that the Antimonopoly Service stopped the proceedings, since the violations under Art. 14.4 (registration and use of the mark) did not find, but by 14.8 (other violations) – I followed the warning and unblocked the group that I asked for. Once again: I was not brought to justice, there are no signs of an administrative offense in my actions.

As for thinking about the CC license, my lawyer wrote quite a lot about it for the OFAS. Let’s hope that the involved lawyer will post these documents – and I do not intend to additionally feed the community with news feeds

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The FAS admitted that I was not a monopolist and that my trademark was perfectly legal. And this will be a great argument to throw strikes for lies and slander on several third-rate YouTube channels) This week I will try to tackle this issue.