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

Andrei Vladimirovich Duksin (Andrey; Duxin; WikiDot user TechnoMage/ARTSCP) is a Russian entrepreneur, owner of the ARTSCP media company,^[1]https://artscp.com/en/about/ and the 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

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, and that the derivative work also abides by the same license. Thus, 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.^[3]http://scpfoundation.net/artscp

As a result of lawsuits brought against Duksin from 2020-2022, and involving appeals courts up to and including the Russian Intellectual Property Court, the SCP Trademark was canceled by the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property, and removed from Duksin’s possession.^[4]https://web.archive.org/web/20230407173525/https://m.vk.com/@scpfanpage-rezume-po-konfliktu-s-andreem-duksinym^[5] … Continue reading^[6] … Continue reading

ARTSCP

ARTSCP is a Russian company based in St. Petersburg that was started in 2015 by Andrei Duksin, who remains the owner. 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.^[7]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,^[8]https://artscp.com/about/ and continues to produce works to this day.

The domain name “ARTSCP.com” was registered in August 2015 and the first recorded content on the site is the announcement of the calendar product, in December 2015.^[9]https://lookup.icann.org/lookup^[10]http://web.archive.org/web/20151204114642/http://artscp.com/ ARTSCP.com links 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.^[11]https://vk.com/scpfoundation^[12]https://web.archive.org/web/20120701053857/https://vk.com/scpfoundation^[13]https://www.youtube.com/c/SCPFoundationARTSCP/featured The SCP Foundation VK page has ~164,000 subscribers, whereas the YouTube channel has over 11,000. The ARTSCP-specific VK has a little over 5,000 subscribers and is not linked directly to from ARTSCP.com.^[14]https://vk.com/artscp Duksin created the group and posted to it regularly in its early years.^[15]https://web.archive.org/web/20161107211021/https://vk.com/artscp

ARTSCP is on Instagram as “an association of professional CG artists. We create the best illustrations for the SCP Foundation and publish artbooks.”^[16]https://www.instagram.com/artscp/?hl=en

ARTSCP books by Andrei Duksin were initially published by KOMILFO, a comic-book subsidiary of the large Russian publishing house Eksmo since 2017.^[17]http://www.komilfobook.ru/^[18]https://archive.ph/phRH4#selection-1027.0-1035.4^[19]http://www.komilfobook.ru/index.php/ob-izdatelstve^[20]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.^[21]https://www.gofundme.com/f/scp-legal-funds, Update March 27, 2021^[22]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.^[23]https://vk.com/wall-98801766_12315

Andrei Duksin continues to produce ARTSCP books and leads the project, per its website.^[24]https://artscp.com/

Artbooks

Artbook 1 was released in June 2016.^[25]https://web.archive.org/web/20161107210421/https://vk.com/scpfoundation Artbook 2 was released in 2017.^[26]https://web.archive.org/web/20200130082727/https://artscp.com/goods/2 Artbook 3 was released in 2019.^[27]https://web.archive.org/web/20200130082009/https://artscp.com/goods/3 A fourth artbook was released in 2022.^[28]https://www.wildberries.ru/catalog/133634581/detail.aspx?targetUrl=GP

— Pardon our progress —

ParaBooks

“We are a new publishing house that specialize in mystic-themed comics, artbooks with various monsters and other cool supernatural stuff.””^[29]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,^[30]https://archive.ph/MhWTw#selection-413.1-413.39 (previously Paranormal Activity Books^[31]https://archive.ph/dsF7K#selection-5277.17-5277.42) a publishing house and general merchandise store based out of Honolulu, Hawaii.^[32]https://para-books.com/ ParaBooks is the US subsidiary of Andrei Duksin’s prior publishing house, KOMILFO.^[33]https://archive.ph/r8xA2#selection-2895.0-2903.409^[34]https://www.gofundme.com/f/scp-legal-funds, Update March 27, 2021

The company has launched two fundraising campaigns; an initial campaign on Indiegogo in December 2020 (now closed), which raised $1,666,693 USD by 8,607 backers, and set-up the company proper.^[35]https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/25163882, archive^[36]https://para-books.com/blogs/news/test, archive A second fundraiser for paperback editions was launched on GoFundMe and etcetera fundraising platforms from 07/26/22 – 09/24/22, which raised $1,512,336 from 12,497 backers. ^[37]https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/parabooks/scp-foundation-artbooks-new-paperback-edition/posts, archive^[38]https://web.archive.org/web/20230118161318/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/parabooks/scp-foundation-artbooks-new-paperback-edition/posts^[39]https://www.kicktraq.com/projects/parabooks/scp-foundation-artbooks-new-paperback-edition/^[40]https://www.backerkit.com/projects/parabooks/scp-foundation-artbooks-new-paperback-edition

The Indiegogo campaign was given some press.^[41]https://www.comixasylum.com/scp-foundation-artbooks-launch-indiegogo-campaign/

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.^[42]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”.^[43]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:^[44]https://www.gofundme.com/f/scp-legal-funds, Update March 27, 2021

“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!”

Parabooks has an Instagram, YouTube channel, and an Amazon storefront.^[45]https://www.instagram.com/para.books/^[46]https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCODPICxbsfb1lO-lu1_zFXg^[47]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:^[48]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

History & Controversy

According to his profile page,^[49]http://www.wikidot.com/user:info/artscp Duksin joined WikiDot on 12 Sep 2012, and presumably the Russian branch of the SCP Foundation shortly thereafter.

Duksin began collaborating with SCP-RU staff in mid 2015. The first documented and public mention of the book was in June 2015, on the official SCP-RU VK page (here translated by Google Chrome to English):^[50]https://web.archive.org/web/20150727114651/http://m.vk.com/scpfoundation

The first known interaction of Duksin with SCP-EN was in June of 2015 when Duksin messaged SCP-EN staff to gauge permissions for a Russian SCP artbook filled with custom depictions of well-known SCP-EN articles.^[51]http://05command.wikidot.com/forum/t-1270986/archived-scp-ru-artbook, archive

Good day! Administrators of Russian branch of SCP Foundation gave me your contacts. We had the idea to publish the art-book in Russian language based on the SCP-universe. We want to hire painters, and make a beautiful book with pictures and descriptions of SCP-objects. The book will contain only descriptions SCP-objects and a lot of illustrations. Russian translators and administrators accept this idea. I’ve talked to most of them, and they relate to the idea positively. However, I want everything to be legal. So, I need to ask permission from somebody of the founders of the original SCP-project. That is why I am writing you. Can we print art-book of SCP in Russia (in Russian language)? Can we use descriptions of SCP-objects in the book?

The idea was received positively and the details of the licensing were shared with Duksin, including the CC BY-SA 3.0 mandate, and the need to avoid any non-custom depictions of SCP-173. Duksin responded, agreeing to the terms.

In November 2015, staff on the Russian branch of the SCP Foundation Wiki announced a collaboration with Duksin to create visual media products.^[52]http://scp-ru.wikidot.com/forum/t-1448810/artbuk-i-kalendar-po-scp#post-2408885 These products included a calendar of art depicting various SCP entries from the English branch, to be released first, and an artbook of the same material, to be released subsequently.

In the following months and years, Duksin would be an evangelist for SCP-RU, and would often attend science fiction, anime, and general media conventions to promote the SCP Foundation, ARTSCP, and their products.^[53]https://web.archive.org/web/20161107210421/https://vk.com/scpfoundation By 2016 he was a prominent figure in the community, and his ARTSCP page and products were featured permanently on both SCP-RU’s VK page, and the main page of the SCP-RU itself.^[54]https://web.archive.org/web/20161107210421/https://vk.com/scpfoundation^[55]https://web.archive.org/web/20160117063914/http://scpfoundation.ru/^[56]https://web.archive.org/web/20160717021656/http://scpfoundation.ru/

The available information regarding the development of this is one-sided, albeit extensive.^[57]http://scpfoundation.net/artscp It began when a large film company contacted Duksin in 2017 for the rights to produce a movie based on the SCP Foundation. Duksin reportedly assured them that the movie was possible, and collaborated with the RU administration to potentially form a canon for the SCP-RU Wiki, so as to accommodate the film and a potential narrative. At some point in the deliberations, of which Duksin was the intermediary for both the SCP-RU and the film company, it became clear that the legal demands of the CC license would ensure that the filmmakers would not hold the rights to distribution of any product that was made, essentially preventing them from making good on investments or ensuring a profit for the film.

It would appear that Duksin then registered the SCP Foundation logo as a trademark in an attempt to circumvent or defy the demands of the CC license, thereby potentially enabling the legal standing of projects like the film, as well as any profits. He did so without the knowledge or consent of the SCP-RU staff, who found out approximately a year later and in troubling circumstances. Geekfunco, a merchant selling SCP related merchandise, was blocked from forming a community on the Russian social media platform VK per the request of “an unknown trademark holder.”^[58]https://web.archive.org/web/20200428004712/http://05command.wikidot.com/russia-licensing-statement After, -RU staff spoke with Duksin, who claimed the company had frauded several purchasers:

Soon after, Duksin attempted to recruit the -RU staff in assisting him enforce the trademark, in order to remove competition from the market that they had predominantly occupied, and informed them about the trademark in the process:^[59]https://web.archive.org/web/20200428004712/http://05command.wikidot.com/russia-licensing-statement

Andrey: As for the “trademark holder request” – I’ll explain that now. Given that I’m putting a lot of money into promoting the universe and creating media content (arts, books, tabletop games, etc), I had to make sure no one shifty enough jumps in and profits on the PR I’m making. ‘Cause in that case I’m losing the resource to get my own investments back. So I spent 100,000 more rubles (approx. $1400) and registered a trademark valid in Russia and the Eurasian Customs Union. Here’s the registry link: (LINK) This doesn’t matter for the community at all, because I’ve always supported the community’s decisions – the words and actions that you, Gene R, iavev, Blackbird5154, Mertanum and the rest make. But it’ll be a problem for all them randos. I contacted those guys and offered to coordinate our actions. They told me to fuck off. In turn, I contacted vk.com admins and kicked that group outta vk. Next thing those guys started threatening me. Now, knowing where they placed their request, I’ll find out the customers and will file a report to the procuracy. Those guys seem to be real frauds. For real, the customers should be sought and a collective police report should be filed.

Duksin has stated publicly that he trademarked the logo for the good of the community, so that products of a higher production value, such as films and games, could be made and used to expand the SCP Foundation’s audience. Additionally, and in the words of SCP-RU representatives:^[60]http://scpfoundation.net/artscp

Andrey directly stated that he “invested a lot in promoting this universe” and now does not want to lose the opportunity to recoup costs, for which he registered a trademark – that is, literally, to fight competitors and prevent them from making money without their permission and money deductions.

In the Summer of 2018, Duksin used his trademark of the SCP Foundation logo to threaten, extort, and shut down competitors to his products.^[61]http://scpfoundation.net/artscp He petitioned VK and the until-then official SCP Foundation page was taken down, later to be restored with Duksin as the owner.^[62]http://scpfoundation.net/artscp Complaints from competing producers prompted the SCP-RU staff to look into the situation, and they confronted Duksin, who claimed that he was protecting the community members from fraudulent businesses. Fraud reportedly could not be instantiated in any way.

In response to growing community awareness and outrage, Duksin wrote an article attempting to justify his reasoning behind the trademark, which has since been deleted.^[63]https://vk.com/@artscp-logo The article has been preserved in the original Russian on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.^[64]http://web.archive.org/web/20190509213827/https://www.vk.com/@artscp-logo In the article, titled “Symbiosis. Parasitism. Licensing.” Duksin claims that he had been doxxed by hostile members of the SCP-RU community in response to his trademarking of the logo. The justification given for the trademark was as follows:

“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 addressed the concerns of the community but dismissed the move as bad, noting 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 gets creative inspiration and material, while the SCP-RU enjoys more exposure, fans, and influence. He also quotes 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.^[65]http://web.archive.org/web/20190509213827/https://vk.com/@artscp-logo

Also in the article, Duksin attacks who he casts as the parasite in the situation, a seller of SCP merchandise named “Aunt Lena”. He berates her for putting the SCP Foundation logo on shirts, coffee mugs, etc, and selling them despite only knowing of the SCP Foundation for a year. Through his words, it is evident that Duksin is displeased with the relatively low-effort products, which he believes are marked up at “exorbitant prices”. He writes that he has protected the fans from this seller by applying the trademark to shut her down, and describes the backlash against him as organized cyberbullying and malicious defamation. Duksin resents Aunt Lena photoshopping his likeness into various pictures in reply, and concludes:^[66]http://web.archive.org/web/20190509213827/https://vk.com/@artscp-logo

“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.

Duksin sold the illustration rights from ARTSCP books to ParaBooks, previously Paranormal Activity Books, in 2021. While the initial Russian publisher, KOMILFO, stated they would cease publication of the art books in 2021, ParaBooks is the US subsidiary of the company, and so is still publishing them; now presumably out-of-contract with Duksin.^[67]https://www.gofundme.com/f/scp-legal-funds, Update March 27, 2021

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, and so was cancelled.^[68]https://web.archive.org/web/20230407173525/https://m.vk.com/@scpfanpage-rezume-po-konfliktu-s-andreem-duksinym

Trivia

Duksin has demanded to be instated as administrator of the Russian branch of the SCP Foundation Wiki.^[69]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.^[70]https://archive.ph/r8xA2#selection-2901.0-2903.92

In an interview, ParaBooks does not mention or distance themselves from Duksin.^[71]https://archive.ph/r8xA2

Various Quotes

“The whole aesthetics of the Foundation hinges on the concept of realism, and we want our books to feel as real as possible.”^[72]https://archive.ph/r8xA2#selection-2925.243-2925.366 — ParaBooks

Post November 2020 Decision^[73]https://vk.com/chaspravosud?w=wall-75214252_821

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

---

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”

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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.