Netievsky about the won trial of the Ural dumplings: “They make money on the conflict. How "Ural dumplings" quarreled with Sergei Netievsky
Until 2015, all income from the TV show was received by a company registered to the director Sergei Netievsky. For the second season in a row, the profit is received by a legal entity, the shares in which were divided by all the "dumplings"
The movie comes out this week lucky case". This is a funny comedy, the main characters of which are ordinary guys who won 43 million rubles and run away from their loved ones so as not to share. The main roles of the film are the actors of the show "", who know firsthand how to quarrel over money.
The creative team decided to remove the director Netievsky after suspicions of "non-transparency" of income
The conflict in the team has been going on for a year and a half, since the fall of 2015. After the permanent director Sergei Netievsky (he once pulled out a team on STS).
He has been the director of Ural Pelmeni since 1998, when the team was still playing in KVN. By the fall of 2015, he actually single-handedly organized the tour of the team - he was the general producer Idea Fix Media and founder First Hand Media. These legal entities, registered in Moscow, accompany the projects of the "Ural dumplings" and are engaged in the touring activities of the team.
At the same time, Creative Association Ural Pelmeni LLC had 10 founders- that is, all the members of the team who stood at its origins. The change of director looked like just a technical solution.
However, already in the summer of 2016, it became clear that the director of the team and his former colleagues, classmates, and friends would not be able to part ways.
The fact that the financial flows controlled by his companies are “opaque,” observers recall.
Now the team is suing Sergei Netievsky (pictured in the middle) for their first performance
Numerous lawsuits began. In February 2017, Sergei Netievsky sued Creative Association Uralskie Pelmeni LLC as compensation for legal costs. In a lawsuit filed with the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region, Netievsky demanded more than 700 thousand rubles from the team.
Also, the ex-director of the team argued that he was illegally removed from his post without notifying the date of the meeting 30 days in advance. In October 2016, the director of the team . Then Netievsky was fired again, and he proved a violation of his rights. In the fall of 2016, he himself left the team. In February 2017, the Moscow Arbitration Court rejected a class action lawsuit by members of the Creative Association Uralskiye Pelmeni against First Hand Media, Sergey Netievsky's company, over the rights to the Uralskiye Pelmeni trademark.
As a result, Netievsky "Ural dumplings", asking for a symbolic sum of two rubles - a ruble for each. “We have a boring negotiation process now, nothing new is happening,” says Netievsky.
Ural dumplings paid two rubles for their logo
Team director Evgeny Orlov explains that in fact the transfer of the badge from Netievsky was logical and followed from the history of owning the basic badge. “There are two trademarks: orange and basic black and white. The base has always belonged to the team, since the days of KVN. Any new trademark - and orange is one of those types - could only be registered on the basis of a black and white mark. And in order to register orange, Netievsky transferred a black and white sign to his First Hand Media company. The team challenged the illegal acquisition of a black and white sign, which should never have left us, - explains Orlov. “The sign should have returned to us.” In the end, this is exactly what happened, and at the end of January 2017, the mark was registered with Rospatent.
According to Orlov, Netievsky earned during the period of owning the sign “not a fundamentally huge amount, several million rubles, this is being specified now.”
The dispute over copyrights for all the performances of "Ural dumplings" is dragging on. It's all about a rather subtle conflict - the rights belong to all the actors of the TV show. However, until 2015, Netievsky was also among them, and after 2015, no. Joint ownership of the rights to different programs is part of the negotiations, as well as funds, sites and shares in the project. Neither side wants any serious problems. Orlov says that Netievsky can "in principle do as he wants, but will it be right from a human point of view and will it be legal?"
Sergei Netievsky did not rule out his return to the "Ural dumplings".
The dispute between the "Ural dumplings" and their director (or not the director - here the versions of the parties differ) Sergey Netievsky has become one of the hottest topics of recent months. After several decades of coexistence, the parties went to court to sort out their relationship.
Lawyers made loud statements. For example, a representative of "Dumplings" accused Netievsky that he did not actually work, and in response he received an accusation that Sergei Isaev actually captured the show.
The first instance has already put an end to one of the disputes - the Sverdlovsk arbitration decided that Sergei Netievsky should be reinstated as director of the Ural dumplings. But this is only the first instance and it is possible that its decision will be appealed.
Tomorrow, the Arbitration Court will continue proceedings on another lawsuit: Ural Pelmeni demand that First Hand Media (owned by Sergei Netievsky) return the rights to the show's trademark. We talked with Sergei Netievsky and listened to his version of what is happening.
- Your lawyers said that last summer some kind of conflict arose in the "Ural dumplings". What was the reason for it? class="_">
– Indeed, we had different opinions about where to move the show. I think every project should be updated. Since 2009, as a producer who brought the show "Ural dumplings" to STS, I have been constantly involved in the formation and updating of the project: graphics, scenery, shooting techniques, editing, etc., to make it relevant and modern.
A loud conflict in the "Ural dumplings" flared up more than 20 years after the creation of the team.
I had different proposals for the "Dumplings" development. For example, for everyone to do their own project, or to do a project with young comedians, who, for starters, should be included in our show, make documentaries and feature films. But the guys did not accept these ideas, and we had creative and organizational differences.
- Can you decipher what you call "creative differences"? class="_">
– We have always discussed development issues with the whole team. As a result, we decided to take a break, tried to discuss our differences, and in the spring I learned about the first lawsuits.
- Sergei Isaev, when they announced the break in relations with you in the fall, he stressed that you were very busy with your projects in Moscow. class="_">
- I really have projects that I have long dreamed of realizing. And during this pause, I began to make them more active. But I have always been involved in both "Ural dumplings" and my own projects.
- I was told that the disagreements were not only creative, but also financial. class="_">
- Of course, where there is television creativity, there is also finance.
- Do you know Alexei Lyutikov, who runs the Ural Pelmeni Production company? class="_">
- Yes, familiar. He joined me at First Hand Media in 2014 as an executive producer. And I entrusted him with the production of the show "Ural dumplings", taught and showed how and what to do, shared the secrets and experience of creating the show, which had been accumulated over five years. He was with the company until the fall of 2015. But then we had disagreements with him, because I was not satisfied with the quality of his work on the creation of a new project "Fathers and These".
- They say that it was Alexei Lyutikov who became the starting mechanism of the conflict. Allegedly, he persuaded Sergei Isaev and other members of the team to produce a show without you. This is true? class="_">
- It is clear that for 20 years we have had a lot of disputes in the team. And Alexey Lyutikov could theoretically amplify these differences and offer himself as a new producer of the show "Ural dumplings". Moreover, he learned from the inside how the show is made.
- This coming Thursday, the Moscow arbitration will consider the suit of "Ural dumplings" against your company First Hand Media: they demand to take away the trademark of the show from you. As far as I understand, there is a text trademark, and there is a graphic one. class="_">
– You are legally savvy. Indeed, there is a text, and there is a graphic trademark. In 2015, the lawyers and management of the companies producing the show (First Hand Media and Idea Fix Media) initiated a technical procedure for combining marks.
Sergey Isaev (on the left in the photo) is now actually in charge of the Ural dumplings, but the de jure director is Sergey Netievsky.
The fact is that since 2012, it was the graphic logo "Ural dumplings" developed by First Hand Media that was used on television broadcasts and at concerts. And it was not protected in any way, it was not registered with Rospatent. The production company combined these two signs to remove the risks in relation to the channel and to other partners.
- There is an opinion that when you left Pelmeni, you simply took away the trademark at the same time. class="_">
“People might think so. But we do not use this sign in any way, we do not prevent the team from doing shows and touring. Most importantly, as soon as a trademark dispute arose, First Hand Media was ready to transfer this trademark to the team. We offered this several times to both the representatives of the team and the team itself. But they don't want to take the sign! Instead, they sue.
– When did First Hand Media register it? class="_">
- I'm afraid to make a mistake, it was in November last year.
- Are you ready to transfer for free or for some kind of financial compensation? class="_">
“First Hand Media is ready to transfer it for free.
- Previously, the team's lawyers said that the trademark "Ural dumplings" is worth 400 million rubles. class="_">
- This figure is taken from the ceiling. It is not clear what this report is based on. As far as I know, a meeting of the "Russian Society of Appraisers" was held, which admitted that the report referred to by the lawyers of the team was made with significant violations. I think that on July 14 the court will sort out this issue.
Interestingly, Yulia Mikhalkova is not among the co-owners of the Ural dumplings.
- Why did you decide to demand to be reinstated as director if your relationship is still on pause? class="_">
– To resolve disagreements that have arisen. There are legal issues: if people break up, then you need to do it in a civilized way.
- You have been with Pelmeny since 1994, and since 1998 you have been the team director. It is clear that the team has been updated during this time. But now you are outside the project. Is this story closed for you? class="_">
- No, the question is open. We have disputes, but this does not mean that we are enemies-enemies. It happens that time passes and disputes go aside.
- It seems to me that it is difficult to return back after litigation. class="_">
– As they say in the East, a glued vessel flows in a thin stream... But in this life, anything is possible.
- After leaving the Ural dumplings, did you watch the new episodes of the show? class="_">
– To be honest, not all of them. To some extent, the show has become different from what we did before. But the project is popular, people are watching it, and I wish the guys success so that Pelmeni will continue to develop.
- For First Hand Media, how significant was the project from a financial point of view? class="_">
I won't say in percentage terms. essential. But we were engaged and are engaged not only in "Dumplings". For example, we made a mini-series "Seasons of Love" for the TV channel "Domashny", we are preparing to produce a full-length comedy "March 9", we are actively developing the project "League of Improvisations".
- We are currently negotiating with several channels. We think it will be an hour show. This is a completely new project for our television. There is a feeling that this project should succeed.
P.S. The site always does its best to reflect the opinions of all parties in the publications. If Sergey Isaev, with whom we have previously communicated many times, agrees to comment on the situation, then we will be happy to provide him with the most visited site in Yekaterinburg.
Members of the creative association "Ural dumplings" became famous back in the 90s, when they performed in KVN. Following the victory in the final of the 2000 season, money came for fame: Yekaterinburg residents became the stars of the STS television channel and began to travel with their show all over the country. On the wave of popularity, the team twice - in 2013 and 2015 - was included in the ranking of the richest showbiz artists, earning 2.8 million and 800 thousand dollars, respectively.
The price of tickets for the Ural dumplings concerts reached tens of thousands of rubles, and the new program was broadcast in prime time on the federal air about once every two months. The more unexpected the quarrel looked from the outside.
How is it that former friends only talk to each other through their representatives in courtrooms?
On October 21, 2015, information appeared that Sergei Netievsky left the position of director of the show. At first, the former kaveenshchiki did not speak about the reasons for such a decision, which only contributed to the spread of rumors: “the guys expressed their distrust of him”, “financial conflict”, “Netievsky has many projects on the side.”
Later that day, the general director of the Ural Pelmeni Production company (produces the show), Alexei Lyutikov, expressed the team's official position. As usual: "The decision to change the director was a simple management move that will increase efficiency." The problem was Netievsky's residence in Moscow, at some point this caused discomfort among his colleagues.
- There were many rumors, including that the reason for the resignation was a financial conflict. What happened?
Sergei felt cramped in Yekaterinburg. He himself said more than once in an interview that he had become a Muscovite, that he was much more comfortable in the capital. In other words, Sergei ceased to be a "dumpling in a saucepan" and became a "fish in the water."
As for rumors of political or financial disputes, we do not even comment on it. We don't want to justify ourselves to anyone. We are honest with each other. We don't have behind-the-scenes games, kitchen secrets. We find it funny to read about it in the media.
- Netievsky will remain in the team?
No one is fired, no one is fired. Now Sergei will be working on his projects in Moscow, and we wish him success in this. If Sergey Netievsky wants to continue working in the team, then we will sit down with him and discuss everything.
Next year is the anniversary of KVN, followed by the anniversary of Alexander Vasilyevich Maslyakov. We will gladly invite both Sergei Svetlakov and Sergei Netievsky.
- Did you and other team members manage to maintain friendly relations with him?
Of course. I think that this is such a feature of the Urals - we are kind, reasonable people. Normal, friendly relations are important to us, because it is easier to live this way. The main value is decency and good attitude towards each other, which we will always keep in the team.
At the same time, Sergei Netievsky tried to launch the entertainment project "Show from the Air". The co-author was Alexander Pushnoy, known for the science and entertainment program "Galileo". It was planned that the transfer will go to STS.
In February 2016, the unspoken leader of the Ural dumplings. “Netievsky went his own way ... I will not take dirty linen out of the hut. The situation here is too complicated. It is not yet fully resolved, so…” he said.
In the spring, two participants announced their interests outside the show: Vyacheslav Myasnikov collected his good songs into an album, and Yulia Mikhalkova wanted to go to the State Duma and. “I didn’t shoot naked. I had a photo shoot in an information magazine, ”the Ural dumplings prima responded to the question about shooting at Maxim.
As it turned out, many of the team's legal issues were tied to Netievsky. To move away from the past life, Sergey Isaev came up with the idea of updating the branding. The winner of the competition for the best logo was promised money.
As it turned out, Sergei Netievsky himself was against changing the status quo and did not agree with his dismissal. The showman felt that he had been improperly notified. On June 1, the arbitration court began to deal with labor relations and the form of their termination.
A month later, the court sided with the ex-director. During that meeting, Ural Dumplings lawyer Olga Yuryeva suggested that in fact Netievsky did not need a seat: “This process is a way to block and slow down the process that is now underway in the Moscow Arbitration. The bottom line is that we are challenging the transfer of a trademark from one company, where Netievsky owned 10%, to another, where he owns all 100%.
At the same time, Uralskiye Pelmeni filed a lawsuit to invalidate the decision to alienate Netievsky's company the exclusive rights to a verbal trademark worth 400 million rubles.
August 10 in the hotel room Angelo. The team went underground for a month and did not speak to reporters.
In October, the 17th Arbitration Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the lower court, confirming that the director of the creative association was Sergei Netievsky.
By December, the opposing sides seem to be. Such an outcome, in theory, suited everyone. Netievsky, although de jure, was reinstated in his position, but he did not have any real influence on the team, and the participants in the Ural dumplings did not need a superstructure, albeit a formal one.
In the last week of 2016, comedians at their meeting elected a new director:.
In May 2017, Ural Pelmeni lost their trademark appeal. Lawyer Yevgeny Dedkov said that the right to the brand was already on the plaintiff's balance sheet, his client Sergei Netievsky issued a sign for the group when he was in the status of the director of dumplings. And comedians still for some reason continue to sue.
By the summer, a new lawsuit began between Netievsky and the Ural dumplings. Lyutikov's successor as CEO, Yevgeny Orlov, said that from the sale of the show on STS and touring activities. To do this, he organized the Idea Fix Media company, which, in fact, became the owner of all the Pelmeni programs.
“In general, there were always hints that something was unclean. He considers his actions legal. Nine people are wrong, and he is right! He said, “This is business. In Moscow, all producers do this. That is, for some reason he imagined himself to be our producer. Although everyone in our team has an equal contribution to the common cause, and incomes should also be equal, ”Dmitry Sokolov said then.
Sergei Netievsky, commenting on the accusations, expressed regret that his former comrades had fallen under bad influence. “A television product is created not only by actors and authors, it is created and promoted by the work of a well-coordinated team of a production company under the guidance of producers. I did a great job as a producer and really made a popular TV show out of the Ural Pelmeni KVN team! Launching a TV project is different compared to actors and authors, a higher level of responsibility, risk and, accordingly, this is a different payment, ”the producer explained his point of view.
On July 17, the court again sided with Netievsky - at that time, the claims of the Ural Dumplings were that the ex-director sold the rights to the anniversary concert “We are 16 years old. Because gladiolus! ”, Without warning the team about this. Sergey, according to the Ural dumplings, took the money from the deal for himself.
A new round of litigation started in the fall. Firstly, a trial was held in the Moscow Arbitration Court against Dmitry Sokolov, Sergey Kalugin, Vyacheslav Myasnikov. Company of Sergey Netievsky - LLC "Fest Hand Media"- asks to be canceled under contracts with its subsidiary. The court dismissed the claim.
Secondly, other lawsuits from LLC "Fest Hand Media" to Uralskiye Pelmeny Production, where the plaintiff claims that Yevgeny Orlov, as CEO of Idea Fix Media, caused damage to the company. He allegedly sold 73 archival concerts to Uralskiye Pelmeni Production for 861 thousand rubles, after which Uralskiye Pelmeni Production transferred the recordings to STS for 231.3 million rubles. The first instance dismissed the claim, after which Fest Hand Media filed an appeal.
A few days ago, the Sverdlovsk Arbitration Court began to consider the next application of the Ural dumplings. Lawyers want, which he allegedly appropriated for himself while he held the position of director of the UE. Netievsky spent these funds through his own individual entrepreneur, although there was no need for this, the representative of Pelmeni said, the plaintiff believes.
On February 28, the director of one of the legal entities - LLC "Creative Association "Ural dumplings"- Natalya Tkacheva became, replacing Andrei Rozhkov. Previously, she was responsible for media communications.
To be continued.
For many months now, the judicial epic of the KVN team "Ural dumplings" with the former director Sergei Netievsky has been going on. On July 31, a regular meeting was held during which the lawsuit against the ex-producer of comedians was rejected.
By the way, it was about a serious sum of 39 million rubles. That is how much, according to the calculations of the "Ural dumplings", Netievsky owed them. Sergei himself managed to prove in court that the above amount was spent on props, makeup and organizing concerts of the band from 2012 to 2015.
Now Sergey is celebrating a long-awaited victory, but nevertheless agreed to find time and comment on the situation.
“Today there was an appeal, and already the second instance confirmed the absence of grounds for discussing my activities as a producer, thanks to which Ural Dumplings became a favorite show for millions of fans. In my opinion, they forgot what happened before 2009. And this is an eternal conflict, when actors, with the advent of popularity, begin to believe that they have achieved everything on their own and without a producer. We were confident in our position, because neither legally nor morally there were grounds for claims against us! These are empty, unpromising attacks on me, fueled by the representatives of Pelmeni, who make money by fanning the conflict with me, ”Sergei told StarHit.
Netievsky does not deny that he has long been tired of the courts and considers all the accusations of his former colleagues against him to be absolutely groundless. In connection with the new legal proceedings, Sergey has suffered considerable financial losses, and now he intends to recover them from the Ural dumplings. By the way, we are talking about costs amounting to hundreds of thousands of rubles.
“I will not get richer from this money, but my former colleagues should feel the absurdity of their attacks and demands on me and bear the costs if they decide to play this game! I hope they will understand the absurdity of the situation they created in order to save their director Orlov E.A., who committed a number of illegal actions and withdrew assets of over 330 million rubles from Idea Fix Media, Netievsky noted.
Earlier, Sergei has repeatedly accused Yevgeny Orlov of cheating on an especially large scale, and now he intends to prove his case by any means.
Opponents of Netievsky are silent for now, but it is quite possible that they will decide on another appeal. Fans of the Ural dumplings have been waiting for a long time for the court squabbles to end, and their idols to be able to return to full-time work, without being distracted by proceedings with the former director.
The other day, there were even rumors that one of the most successful KVN teams was breaking up, and the stars were rapidly leaving the team. However, noting that they still have many unrealized plans, which means that closing the project is out of the question.
But Sergey Netievsky is sure that the endless and groundless accusations against him are working against the Ural dumplings. “This next lawsuit, like the lawsuits filed against me earlier, is nothing more than an attempt to slander me, mislead the public and law enforcement agencies, create a negative background in the media, exhaust me with courts and, thereby, try to evade responsibility. I am convinced that such empty and unpromising attacks against me rather work against the team and the image of the show, ”said the ex-director of Ural Pelmeni.
Together with former teammates, Sergey has come a long way. At one time, a short film was even shot about how the now extremely popular show "Ural dumplings" was born. However, due to the protracted conflict, now there seems to be no talk of reconciliation.
Five members of the "Ural dumplings" filed a lawsuit against the ex-head of the team Sergei Netievsky - we are talking about a disputed 28.3 million rubles. It is curious that litigation ends, as a rule, in favor of the former director.
Members of the creative association "Ural dumplings" Vyacheslav Myasnikov, Dmitry Sokolov, Alexander Popov, Maxim Yaritsa and Sergey Kalugin filed a lawsuit with the Sverdlovsk arbitration and require 28.3 million rubles from the former director of the team, Sergei Netievsky, RBC-Yekaterinburg reports. As it appears in the court documents, the artists are asking to invalidate a certain deal. Previously, they demanded the introduction of interim measures, but the court refused them.
The parties refuse to comment on the details so as not to "ignite the conflict." But, apparently, the members of the team want to recover lost profits during the time when Sergey Netievsky headed Ural Pelmeni, and his companies owned trademark rights, E1 clarifies. A preliminary hearing in the case has been scheduled for January 30, 2018.
In parallel with this process, the Moscow Arbitration Court is investigating Dmitry Sokolov, Sergey Kalugin and Vyacheslav Myasnikov. Sergey Netievsky's company First Hand Media wants to cancel loans issued to artists under agreements with its subsidiary. It is known that there were 15 such contracts for a total amount of 73.5 million rubles.
Recall that litigation between Sergei Netievsky and the team that he once headed, and, as a rule, end in favor of the ex-director. So, in the fall of 2015, the team decided to remove him from his leadership position. Netievsky challenged this, the court sided with him. However, in 2016 the showman himself left this position.
The second series of litigation was dedicated to the trademark. In March 2016, "" demanded through the court to invalidate the agreement with First Hand Media, signed by Mr. Netievsky in May 2015, on the transfer of exclusive rights to the brand to the studio. According to Znak.com, Sergei Netievsky, in the midst of litigation, transferred the combined trademark "Ural dumplings" to his former colleagues for a nominal fee of 2 rubles. But the artists wanted to achieve a judicial decision on this issue. Last February, the dumplings lost another lawsuit against their ex-director. Mr. Netievsky sued former colleagues for 300 thousand rubles. - part of the amount spent on legal costs. Note that the plaintiff demanded to reimburse him 711.8 thousand rubles, but the court satisfied the claim in part.
The trademark "Ural dumplings" is not the only stumbling block. Former colleagues accuse Netievsky of embezzling the team's income. Evgeny Orlov, the new head of the team, previously talked about how Sergey Netievsky sold programs with the participation of the team on STS, while assuring the show participants that they were working only for fees, DK.RU reported.
