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Ukrainian director Andriy Pryymachenko wins court case against HBO

Ukrainian director Andriy Pryymachenko defended his copyright over a work that was used without permission by the American television company HBO in the production of the miniseries "Chernobyl."

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Ukrainian director Andriy Pryymachenko wins court case against HBO
Photo: From Andriy Pryymachenko’s Facebook page.

Ukrainian director won copyright cases against HBO. In 2019, HBO released the series Chernobyl, in the first episode of which a work by Ukrainian director and videographer Andriy Pryymachenko was copied without his knowledge or permission. After prolonged correspondence with the company, the director received dismissive replies but no attempts at a resolution. He then decided to take legal action. He writes about this on his Facebook page:

“The agreement with HBO has been signed. As a result of the process in the District Court for the Southern District of New York, the parties reached a settlement. This is a significant precedent where it was possible to defend the copyright of a Ukrainian in a US court against one of the largest American (and global) media companies. The details of the agreement cannot be disclosed due to the terms of the contract. From the very beginning of this case, more than six years ago, my goal was to restore justice. No matter what company it is, or which country it is from — be it the US or China — you cannot take someone else’s work and pretend nothing happened,” writes Andriy Pryymachenko.

He also says he did not expect such a prolonged court process.

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