Miramax sued director Quentin Tarantino on Tuesday over his plans to create and auction off a series of NFTs based on his work on the film “Pulp Fiction”.
According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles, the entertainment company claims that Tarantino’s planned offerings infringe on the copyrights it holds to the director’s 1994 film.
Tarantino recently announced plans to sell seven non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are digital works that have been made unique and tied to a single owner using cryptocurrency technology.
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The NFTs to go on sale next month include scanned digital copies of handwritten script pages for uncut versions of scenes from the film, with audio commentary and other elements. Each will also include “secret” aspects accessible only to the owner.
“Tarantino’s conduct has forced Miramax to bring this lawsuit against a valued collaborator in order to enforce, preserve, and protect its contractual and intellectual property rights relating to one of Miramax’s most iconic and valuable film properties,” the company said in the lawsuit. “Left unchecked, Tarantino’s conduct could mislead others into believing Miramax is involved in his venture. And it could also mislead others into believing they have the rights to pursue similar deals.”
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According to the lawsuit, Tarantino’s attorneys responded to Miramax’s cease-and-desist letters by claiming that the sales are covered by Tarantino’s partial rights to the production, which include the rights to screenplay publication.
The lawsuit requests that a judge prohibit the sale of the NFTs and any other similar violation of Miramax copyrights, as well as that Tarantino pay Miramax’s legal fees and costs.
Tarantino rose from being an indie filmmaker to being a major filmmaking star with “Pulp Fiction,” a 1994 film starring Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta.
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It was one of several films he worked on with Miramax, which was run by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein at the time.
With inputs from Associated Press