CTC and Melnitsa Sue Grindev Khleb Bakery

In late January, TV channel CTC and the animation studio Melnitsa, best known for the films about the three bogatyrs, filed lawsuits against the Rostov bakery chain Grindev Khleb. The cases appeared in the file of the arbitration court.

In September 2025, the bakery sold a product with an image of the character Nudik, which belongs to CTC under a contract. Apparently, this refers to the hero of the cartoon «Three Cats».

LLC «Grindev Khleb» is a Don bakery chain. The founders are Alexey Grindev (51%) and Anastasia Gridneva (49%). The director is Iya Leonova. The legal entity was registered in 2024. The brand itself originated earlier — in 2010. There is no data on the company«s financial position.

«The plaintiff did not give permission to the defendant to use the exclusive rights belonging to it. The product sold by the defendant was not introduced into civil circulation by the plaintiff or third parties with the consent of the plaintiff,» the lawsuit states.

JSC CTC sent a pre-trial claim to Grindev, but the company left it unfulfilled. Now the plaintiff is asking to recover from the defendant 100,000 rubles (approximately $1,000 at current rates) in compensation for violation of exclusive property rights to a work of visual art.

Melnitsa filed a lawsuit against Grindev because the bakery chain sold products with the image of Luntik from the cartoon «Luntik and His Friends» or a similar image. This is a trademark belonging to the animation studio. Melnitsa did not give permission for the use of the image.

The studio sent a pre-trial claim — it was left unfulfilled. Now Melnitsa wants to recover from the company 50,000 rubles (approximately $500 at current rates) in compensation for violation of exclusive property rights.