Russian man to become exclusive owner of Earth's atmosphere and clouds

US citizen filed a declaration of ownership for Earth's Moon and the planets Mars, Venus, Mercury and other astronomic bodies

It was generally believed before that weird lawsuits and ridiculous financial intrigues could happen only in Western countries. The trend is currently becoming common for Russia too.

A citizen of the town of Yeisk, in Russia's Krasnodar region, submitted an official statement to a local notary office, claiming his ownership for moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. The potential owner of clouds (clouds carry the moisture of the atmosphere), Vladimir Osipiv, says that his major objective is to struggle with environmental pollution. Local lawyers, however, say that the situation is absurd.

The 48-year-old lawyer from Yeisk, who used to assist the head of the local administration, is certain that his idea is quite viable, no matter how ridiculous and absurd it might seem. The man says that there is no law about the atmospheric moisture in the world. Vladimir Osipov decided to become the first individual to privatize the ownerless clouds. The conquerors of the Wild West used the same principle, when they pronounced their ownership of the land. If a sailor discovers a previously unknown island, he will be able to claim his rights for the land – this practice is still actual nowadays.

US citizen Dennis M. Hope is the brightest example of the “quiet conquest.” The man filed a declaration of ownership for Earth's Moon and the planets Mars, Venus, Mercury and other astronomic bodies of the Solar system, except for the Sun and the Earth. Mr. Hope sent a written notification of his territorial claims to the UN, the USSR, the USA, China, Canada and other countries in 1980. The governments of those countries did not react to such a strange claim, which gave Denis Hope an incentive to establish his own business to sell plots on the Moon, Mars and other heavenly bodies. Seventy-two hectares of the Moon, or 80 hectares on Mars will coast a bit more than $100. It is worth mentioning that over two million people currently own their “land” on the Moon.

”As a rule, such strange thoughts and actions are absolutely new and incomprehensible for the vast majority of people. It is absolutely normal. However, I am absolutely sure that there are some people both in Russia and in the international community, who support such ideas,” Russian natural proprietor Vladimir Osipov says.

Mr. Osipov has bewildered his colleagues, local lawyers. The document, which Osipov submitted to the notary, contains the annex, in which one may find the list of 150 countries. “I have created a precedent in the world's legal practice,” Vladimir says. It is noteworthy that the notary accepted the statement, but required written addresses to the governments of those countries.

Some lawyers approve Vladimir Osipov's idea. They say that his wish to own clouds does not violate upon any legal principles. In addition, they believe that the privatization of clouds can bring good to the improvement of the ecological situation. “I plan to hand over the property to certain people. They will definitely want their private property to be ecologically pure. That is why they will demand ecologically pure technologies from those, who use natural resources,” Osipov says.

”He decided to make money from nothing, from air actually. He does not plan to sell anything to anyone. He will simply give shares to entrepreneurs to struggle with the pollution of the environment,” Vladimir Osipov's colleagues believe. “A person will accept the possession – the clouds. This property goes around the Earth. That is why those people and factories, which pollute the environment, they will cause damage to this property.” If specialists register a considerable pollution of the atmosphere in any part of the globe, Vladimir Osipov, as the owner of the “damaged” clouds, will be able to sue them seeking punitive damages.

However, it is impossible to guarantee that Osipov's co-owners of the sky will not start selling their shares. The Yeisk administration has already received several calls from people, who expressed their wish to pay for the clouds.

The discussion is currently gathering pace in Russia. There are trillions tons of water in the atmosphere of the Earth – this ocean does not have any limits. In addition, it touches upon the interests of every human being. Lawyers say, however, that clouds will most likely be regulated by the law about natural monopolies. The enterprising would-be proprietor claims that one cannot restrict clouds with borders.