The court dismissed Moon Records’ lawsuit against the family of Kuzma Skryabin for ₴600,000. Details of court decision No. 910/9689/25 and the protection of the artist’s legacy rights on Minatrix.FM.
The Commercial Court of the city of Kyiv has refused the company MUN RECORDS its claim to recover more than 600,000 hryvnias from LLC “KUZMA SKRYABIN” in a case concerning an alleged infringement of copyright and related rights to the musical works of the band “Skryabin.” In doing so, the court effectively put an end to one of the most high-profile legal disputes surrounding the legacy of Kuzma Skryabin.
What the court decided
According to the ruling in case No. 910/9689/25, the court denied the claimant’s request to recover 605,600 hryvnias in compensation. The dispute concerned an agreement dated January 1, 2017, on the transfer of property rights to the musical works of the band “Skryabin.”
MUN RECORDS claimed that LLC “KUZMA SKRYABIN” had allegedly transferred rights to 27 derivative works—remixes and covers—which it did not fully own. At the same time, the claimant stated that it had previously obtained rights to these works under separate agreements with performers and producers in 2014–2016, including CJ Mars, DJ Melloffon, the band “Odyn v Kanoe,” and others.
Key findings of the court
The court reached a fundamentally important conclusion:
the mere conclusion of an agreement to transfer rights that a party does not own does not, in itself, constitute proof of copyright infringement.
The claimant failed to prove that the defendant:
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used the disputed works without authorization,
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disposed of them unlawfully,
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or committed actions falling under the list of infringements defined in Article 53 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights.”
In addition, the court took into account the defendant’s position: the inclusion of remixes in the agreement was regarded as an exercise of copyright in the original works of “Skryabin” that had been adapted, rather than as unlawful appropriation of third-party rights.
It was also noted separately that during the first three quarters of 2017, MUN RECORDS paid LLC “KUZMA SKRYABIN” 68,557 hryvnias in royalties, which further contradicted the version alleging deliberate infringement.
Context of the conflict
After the death of Andrii Kuzmenko, all property copyright in his works passed to his wife, Svitlana Babiychuk, who established the company “KUZMA SKRYABIN” to manage these rights.
Cooperation with the label was based on revenue sharing: 70% to Kuzma’s family and 30% to the label. Over time, however, the conflict escalated from a commercial dispute into the criminal sphere.
In 2024, law enforcement authorities reported suspicion against Moon Records director Tetiana Korchemakha, alleging underpayment of nearly 1.5 million hryvnias to the musician’s family. In 2025, the case was referred to court. It had also been reported earlier that the label’s founder was being sought; he publicly denied the accusations and claimed counter financial demands against Kuzma’s family.
The court’s decision in the case concerning 605,000 hryvnias became an important precedent: it confirmed that Kuzma Skryabin’s legacy is protected by law, and that attempts to legally challenge the family’s right to manage his creative works cannot be based on assumptions without evidence of an actual infringement.
For the Ukrainian music industry, this ruling served as a reminder that copyright issues—especially those related to the legacy of iconic artists—require not only contracts, but also strict compliance with the law and good faith on the part of all parties.
