⚖️ Rights Dispute Erupts Over Leopold the Cat Feature Film

The core of the dispute centers on the utilization of the characters Leopold the Cat and the Mice in the studio’s upcoming project, which is scheduled to commence principal photography in the fall of 2026. Representatives from both entities have confirmed the issuance of the claim and the subsequent exchange of official legal responses.

The conflict emerged after Welcome Media and the Kinocekh studio announced they were entering production on Leopold. The screenplay is slated to be based on stories penned by Anatoly Reznikov, the prominent director and writer behind the iconic Soviet animated franchise. However, Rubstein Properties contends that this chain of title is illegitimate. The American firm’s position hinges on the assertion that the exclusive rights to the Soviet-era animations produced by the “Ekran” Creative Association were transferred to Gosteleradiofond (the State Fund of Television and Radio Programs), which subsequently granted a license to Russian Mobile Television (RMT) in 2013, encompassing the rights to produce sequels and remakes. In 2015, RMT and Rubstein Properties co-produced the series The New Adventures of Leopold the Cat, with the rights ultimately vesting in the U.S. company.

Rubstein Properties argues that Reznikov’s post-1993 stories and illustrations, which were derived from the original animated series, constitute an “unauthorized derivative work.” Consequently, they claim the director’s heirs lacked the legal capacity to cleanly transfer film adaptation rights. Compounding the friction is the fact that Rubstein Properties and its partners have been concurrently developing their own standalone feature film based on the famous feline IP since 2025.

Conversely, Dmitry Litvinov and Welcome Media’s legal counsel vigorously refute the allegations. In the studio’s official response, attorneys emphasized that the underlying rights to Leopold the Cat are multifaceted by nature and cannot be monopolized by a single entity. The production company pointed to established judicial precedent establishing that multiple, distinct intellectual property assets exist under the umbrella brand: the literary character created by Arkady Khait, the graphic character design by artist Vyacheslav Nazaruk, and the audiovisual character owned by Gosteleradiofond.

Welcome Media secured its rights exclusively through the literary chain of title: originating with Khait, passing to Reznikov, and subsequently transferred from his heir to the studio. Treating these separate IP assets as a single, indivisible entity is legally erroneous, the company maintains.

Independent media law experts consulted on the matter agree that the outcome of any potential litigation will hinge on the precise phrasing within the historical licensing agreements, as well as the degree to which the visual design of the cat in the new film mirrors the original Soviet animation or its contemporary iterations.